Fall of the Commonwealth: The Raiders of Nuka World
by JanetheWriter
Summary: After her family was killed by the Institute lead by the Sole Survivor, Lizette swore she would have revenge. She turned to the last army strong enough to get her what she wanted; Raiders. Now, she must take control of the Raiders of Nuka World and lead them to victory over the Commonwealth at any cost. This story takes place after Fallout 4 and includes many familiar faces.
1. Prologue

**Prelude: The Rise of the Institute**

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 **A/N: This story takes place after the main quests of Fallout 4 and will coincide with the events that take place in Nuka World. This will contain spoilers of the DLC, but will be different from the actual events that happen, as this story follows an original character.**

 **As this story focuses mainly on raiders, there may be some events that will be more graphic or mature then others. I will warn of anything in these author notes when applicable.** **Enjoy.**

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"Lizzie. Run!" Lizzie's father shouted to her as a hail of energy blasts crashed against the outside of their home. "Get your motha' and get to our safe point. Rememba'? By the beach!" The man with peppered hair grabbed his gun and returned fire at the enemy from the window.

Lizzie grabbed her 10mm pistol and ran out the back door of their home; a prewar house that was long since abandoned. She ran to their small plot of farmland just beyond the backyard, where her mother was just standing from her crouched position, curious about the gunfire. She looked terrified and picked Lizzie's little sister up as she saw stray shots from an energy pistol fly around their house.

"Ma! Hold on to Lilly! We gotta go!" Lizzie shouted as she ran to her mother.

"Where is your father?" The shaken woman asked.

"He said he'll meet us at the safe point. Come on! We don't have time to wait." She said and grabbed her mother's arm, continuing to run.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw the synths walking around the sides of the house… and out the back door. "No…." She whispered. She knew her father was as good as dead. Rage built up inside of her and she wanted to rush back, wipe out all of those damn freaks. But she knew she would be killed to. She didn't tell her mother what she saw as she led the three to safety away from their home.

Once at the safe point, an old enclosed dock on the beach not far from their home, Lizzie collapsed into a chair, her head in her hands. "Why the hell would the Institute attack us?" She asked her mother, who was trying to calm her crying little sister.

"I… I have no idea…" Her mother replied, tears in her eyes. "We… We just have to wait for your father." She said, her heart aching. She knew that her husband was dead, but she didn't believe it… couldn't believe it. Not yet.

Lizzie looked at her mother and sighed. She would tell her mother the truth after they rested for a few minutes. Her thoughts drifted back to her question. The Institute had been far too active lately. Settlements were hounded for supplies and spare tech, often being attacked without warning or the ability to appease the synths before they started to shoot. It all started when that… vault dweller from Vault 111 woke up. The rumor was that he was searching for his son, which led him to the Institute. Once he went down there, things were never the same.

The railroad was wiped out first. Lizzie didn't even know they existed. For all she knew, they were a fairytale… a myth. But when a bloodbath was found inside that Old North church, the truth came out. Next was the Brotherhood of Steel. Lizzie was impressed and excited to see an airship fly into the Commonwealth. When she was old enough, she planned on joining their ranks. They were strong, capable, and had really cool Power Armor. Even they didn't stand a chance against the onslaught of synths that overwhelmed their forces at the airport. Their airship exploded and crashed into the bay.

The last group to face off against the Institute was the Minutemen. She was sure that they would stop those synths. After all, the ending of any good story is the good guys, defenders of the Commonwealth, would save the day! This story, however, ended with the fall of the militia. The fires from the battle are still burning at the Castle, and there has been no sign of any of the Minutemen.

With no one to stand up to them, the Institute didn't waste any time letting the people of the Commonwealth know that they were officially under their control. Diamond City has synths guarding the town now. Even Goodneighbor's Mayor Hancock is under house arrest and runs the city through synth agents that carry out "his" orders. Everyone knows that he is just as much a prisoner as any of the rest.

But none of that answered the burning question: why was Lizzie's family targeted? They were simple farmers, not part of any settlement, and the most tech they had was a busted radio that her dad had to fix once a week.

"How… how long should we wait for your father?" Her mother asked, breaking Lizzie away from her thoughts.

Lizzie tried to smile. Though she was only 17, she knew that she and her father were the strong ones in the family. "We can probably spend the night here. I… I think we should leave the Commonwealth if he isn't back by morning. We aren't safe here."

"Not without your father." Her mother said, tears streaming down her face.

"Get some rest, mom. We'll figure it out in the morning." Lizzie replied gently. Her mother lay on a sleeping bag with Lilly, and they fell into an uneasy sleep. Lizzie leaned back in her chair, her pistol on her lap. She tried to stay awake, tried to defend her family, but she was just as exhausted as the others and fell asleep after just an hour.

"Phill!" A woman shouted, brining Lizzie up from her sleep. She was groggy and sat up, trying to clear her head when she heard the voice again. It was her mother calling her father's name as loud as she could. She was bringing a lot of attention to herself, and Lizzie knew that would only end in disaster.

"Phill! Come on! The girls and I are worried sick about you!" Her mother yelled again as Lizzie rushed out of the safe house and down the beach where her mother, with Lilly in her arms, was pacing in the sand.

"Mom, Stop! Shh!" Lizzie hissed, trying to quiet her mom down, but it was too late. As she reached her mother, she heard the familiar *Zzzt* of the teleporter that the Institute used to send their synths. Lizzie spun around to see three synths, and two men. One wore a courser jacket, pants, boots and a pair of sunglasses. He had dark skin and a short haircut. The other was in a suit of power armor, painted pearl white. The helmet was the only thing missing from the suit. Lizzie looked into the eyes of the man who was running the Institute.

"Sir… Target seems to have been found." The courser said in a monotone voice. "The PAM unit described the young one as the main target." He pointed right at Lizzie.

"That's right, X6. That damn robot that the Railroad was using seems to not be completely useless. Though I can't see how this teenager would be a threat to me." The man in Power Armor said, a smile on his face.

Lizzie stood in front of her mother and little sister, her pistol ready to shoot the group. "Don't worry mom… I'll protect you." She whispered behind her. Her mother, on the other hand, took off running, Lilly in her arms.

"Shall we eliminate the witnesses?" The courser asked. The man in Power Armor nodded and the synths opened fire, reducing Lizzie's mother and sister to piles of glowing dust before she could even fire a shot to stop them.

"No! You bastards!" Lizzie cried and unloaded her pistol on the Power Armor. The bullets ricocheted off of the plating. The man chuckled, pulled out a rifle, and shot Lizzie in the shoulder. She cried out in pain, but continued to shoot at him with her other hand. The bullets were wildly inaccurate, but that didn't stop the rage-filled teen from trying to enact her revenge.

A synth off to the left of the man took a bullet to the head, dropping it instantly. The man fired another around into her other shoulder and then one into her stomach. Lizzie dropped her pistol and fell to her knees, holding her stomach wound. Her tears hit the ground in front of her as she sobbed, sad that she wouldn't be able to get her revenge.

The man in armor walked to the young girl and kneeled in front of her. "Does it hurt? I'm sorry that I had to do all of this. But know that it was for the good of the Commonwealth that you and your family had to die."

"I'm going to… kill… you." Lizzie hissed at him through gritted teeth, looking right into his eyes. "I promise…"

The man chuckled and nodded. "PAM was right. It was too dangerous to let you live. You could have done some real damage if we didn't wipe you out." He patted her head with his metal clad hand, raised his gun, and fired one more round into her chest.

Lizzie sprawled on her back, bleeding from all of her wounds. Her breath was shallow as the man in the armor returned to his synth entourage. "Let's go. We have more work to do." He said.

"Should we put one more in her to make sure she is dead?" X6 asked.

"No… She's done. Let her have a few more minutes to think about her family before she is gone." He said. "After all… it's her fault that they all died." He looked at the almost lifeless body of Lizzie and smiled. With another *Crack*, the Institute hit squad disappeared.

Lizzie laid there, thinking about what had happened. She thought about what the man had said, how she had been the one that was destined to stop the Institute, according to some PAM bitch. How she was the reason her family had died. And now, she would join them. She closed her eyes, tears running down her face. She felt herself slipping into the abyss before a pair of rough hands grabbed the shoulders of her shirt and start to dragg her down the beach.

"Looky what the Institute left alive!" The deep voice of a raider kept her connected to the world of the living. She looked up into his face, the face of a monster in mismatched armor. "Don't worry, beautiful. You won't be going anywhere just yet. Don't want to waste good merchandise."

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 **4 Years Later**

Colter was sitting at the bar in his den in Fizz Top Mountain. Three scantily clad woman with slave collars worked at tidying up his home. One served him a drink and he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her towards him. Before he could plant a kiss on her, Gage walked in through the back door.

"Boss… Someone new's arriving on the monorail. I think it'd be a good time to put on a show for the gangs." Gage said with crossed arms. He was Colter's right hand man and the only one the big oaf trusted. Gage stood about six feet tall, with a muscular build. He wore a metal cage like armor piece on his torso, and black pants and boots. He shifted his eyepatch over his left eye and waited for his boss's response.

"That's a good idea! The last two didn't even make it out of the first room. Think this one will make it all the way to the Cola Cars?" Colter said, getting to his feet and stretching.

"Yeah. This one has a special kinda look to her. She even saw through our little bait's lie about his family and came to Nuka World anyway. Should be a good show." Gage replied.

"Alright! Let's get me into my armor then. Rally the gangs!" Colter said, pushed the slave woman away from him and stomped towards the elevator to get to the arena before the contender did. Gage followed behind, but he scowled after his boss. He needed this newcomer to be the one. He couldn't waste any more time.


	2. Chapter 1: Cola Cars Take Down

**Chapter 1: Cola Cars Takedown**

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 **A/N: Feel free to drop me a line and tell me how you like the story so far. I always appreciate reviews.**

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The monorail car swayed as it rushed towards the park. Lizette looked out the window, watching the landscape pass before her. As the park came into view, she stared emotionless at the site of the once vibrant amusement park. From here, it was hard to tell that it was a haven for raiders. If the guy at the train station, Harvey, could be trusted, she was walking right into a trap.

 _"_ _If you'll direct your attention to the right side of the monorail, you can observe Nuka World's famous Fizztop Mountain. Standing at over 100 meters tall, Fizztop Mountain is the largest manmade structure in Nuka World!"_

The voice over the intercom was bright and cheery. Liz was surprised that the speakers still worked after all this time. The voice continued to drone on as she the train approached a huge tree with bodies hung by their neck, swaying slightly in the wind. A smile barely creased her face. "That's more like it." She whispered as the radio crackled, changing from the friendly tour guide to the gruff voice of a man.

 _"_ _So, you heard Harvey's warning and still you decided to show up. I only got a minute, so you better listen, and listen good. Name's Gage. Porter Gage. And the truth is, you've been set up. Harvey didn't tell ya everything. This here is leading you to a death trap. But if you somehow make it through alive, I have an interesting offer for you. In the meantime, have fun and put on a good show. I'll be watchin'."_ The speaker cut off and the friendly Nuka tour guide welcomed Liz to Nuka World. Entering the terminal, the doors opened and she stepped out onto the platform.

She scanned the room, getting her bearings through her mask. She wore a hood over her head, hiding her bright red hair. A metal mask covered her face with the eyes holes covered in dark colored lenses to help with the glare of the sun and the flashes from her rifle. She wore a long black jacket, hiding her thin frame. On the back of her coat was stitched a cross made of white roses. The collar of the coat was made of fur that had long since been matted and tangled due to age. Under the coat was a metal breastplate, and black padded leather pants to absorb some shots and shrapnel. She wore black gloves on her hand and black boots on her feet. Intimidation was its own reward.

"Attention all of my favorite undesirables out there. In case you haven't noticed, we have ourselves some fresh meat to run the gauntlet. Hahaha." A voice rang out over the loudspeaker in the station.

Lizette noticed the only door in the room with an arrow pointing to it. Taking out her combat rifle with a long barrel attachment, compensator and red dot sights, she held it at the ready and pushed the door to open to the death maze.

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Colter made his way through Nukatown, USA, the dilapidated entry way to the Nuka World Amusement park. He took huge strides as he moved towards the Cola Cars Bumper Car ride, the last stop in the Gaunlet. "How fast can she make it through the maze, do ya think?" He asked Gage, who moved quickly to keep up with the Overboss's pace.

"Don't know. Seemed pretty well armed from what I could tell. Best not to waste time." Gage replied. He saw the other gangs hurrying to take their seats for the show. It was one of the few times he didn't see the Pack, Disciples, or Operators start a fight with one another.

"Hmph. Hope this one lasts a bit longer. The last one died so fast, I thought we were going to have a riot on our hands." Colter said with a hearty laugh, one that Gage grudgingly returned.

"Oh, I think that this one will be a fight to remember." Gage said, almost under his breath as he held the door for Colter to enter the Cola Cars.

"Well, what do ya know?! The Vic made it all the way to the staging area! And our awesome Overboss, Colter, has just stepped into the ring!" The radio personality announced over the radio again. "It might just be me, but I think Ol' Red Eye here is going to put my money on Colter. He hasn't lost yet."

Colter rushed down the ramp, seeing the woman in black waiting on the cat walk, ready to enter the staging room where she would enter the arena. Opening the door to the arena, Colter stepped out onto an old bumper car rink. Some damaged cars still littered the ground, acting as cover for the contestants in the fighting arena. There were also old fiberglass Nuka bottles standing 15 feet tall around the rink, which were once used as obstacles for the park goers to ram into. Around the bumper car rink were benches and seats that were all occupied by the gangs that inhabited Nuka World.

Colter jumped into a waiting suit of Power Armor, made of scrap metal and metal netting. "You got me wired up yet gage?" Colter demanded as Gang fastened the suit closed.

"Yeah, boss." Gage replied. With a twist of the power cable into the back of the suit, blue arcs of electricity crackled to life all over the suit.

"Good. Now go shut off that damn alarm."

"Alright. I'm on it." The underling said and walked quickly to the terminal. He locked the door to the terminal room, leaving Colter nowhere to retreat to.

"Now where… Ah… There's my next victim." Colter made said to Lizette, looking up from the rink to the catwalk above him. Behind glass, she was harmless, and safe from his attacks. But he couldn't wait until he could get his hands on her. "Heh. Don't look like much. Here's a quick rundown of how this works. You go stock up, make yourself presentable, and then we're gonna give these folks a show. A show where I decorate these walls here with your lovely brains. Thanks to this suit, I'm the only one that wins this fight. Period. Think you're hot shit getting this far? Think again. Alright Gage, let 'er through. Something tells me I'm going to enjoy this."

Gage opened the door and waited for the mysterious woman to enter the staging room. Once she was inside, he pressed the button on the microphone within the room he stood in to talk to her through the intercom system. _"Alright, listen the hell up if you want to make it out of this alive. I've only got a minute. Over here. The intercom box. On the wall."_ He needed to warn her if his plan was going to be put in motion. Colter needed to go, and Gage needed a new patsy to replace him. One that he could get to actually complete the job him and the other raiders had started. But that would all come in time. He waited a minute or so before addressing her again. _"Hello… Come on. I ain't got all day."_

"Who is this?" A light voice called over the intercom. Gage was startled for a second. It was not what he was expecting. Then again, he didn't expect the woman to get this far anyway. Shaking off his surprise, Gage pushed the button on the microphone to respond.

"I'm the guy that's going to get you out of this alive, so listen up. Look, you made it this far, you obviously got skill. But this fight comin' up is rigged. You get me? Overboss Colter… his Power Armor's set up to draw energy from the electric grid in the arena. Damn thing's invincible. You name it, someone's tried it. Miniguns, grenades. Not a scratch. You get what I'm saying?"

"Well… You are raiders, after all." The woman replied.

 _"Heh…. You know us so well."_ Gage continued. "You wanna win? I stashed a weapon in the lockers. Get it."

"If you mean the water gun, I already grabbed it." She replied.

 _"Gotta admit. I didn't think you'd be so excited to find out a squirt gun is the key to saving your life."_ Gage chuckled.

"Makes sense. The suit is hooked up to the grid. Electricity and water don't mix."

 _"Well, color me impressed. Seems like you got a better head on your shoulders then I thought. Let's try to keep it there, hm? Few squirts of that on the suit, and it'll short circuit. Then, you give 'im hell. Shoot whatever you can at him. He'll go down. No problem. Alright, it's time. I'll open the door. See you on the other side."_ Gage pressed the button and the door leading to the arena opened. He watched as the woman in black walked from one room to the next. She was graceful and almost seemed to float through the hallway. Could have just been the jacket though.

As the woman stood by the final door separating her from the hulking metal goliath known as Colter, the Overboss addressed the crowd. "Alright! Disciples! Are you ready for blood? And the Pack! Are you ready for things to get wild? Operators! Are you ready to see me notch another kill? And you…. Are you ready to die?" The crowd erupted into applause and cheers.

The door flung open and Colter walked towards his target. The suit made it hard to maneuver and the Overboss could barely turn his head or see out of the sides of his suit, which were open. However, he knew that as long as the electricity surged through his suit, he would have no problem killing one woman.

Lizette charged forward. Her armor was light and thin enough to let her move freely. As Colter's heavy boots fell onto the rink, she darted to the right side, closest to the rows of seats that the other gangs were sitting in. Leaping over the overturned cars, she brought out the Thirst Zapper water gun in one hand and doused the suit with water.

"What the… ARGH!" Colter yelled in pain as his suit short circuited. "What the hell is this?!" He shouted and swung his gun around in anger. He looked in the direction that the woman was standing just moments ago, but she was gone. "Alright, you bitch! Stop hiding!" He shouted. From behind him, he heard a sharp whistle. Turning his head the best he could, he saw the woman in armor crouched on top of one of the fiberglass bottles, her rifle up to her eye.

Three bullets in quick succession flew from the barrel of the gun, colliding with the side of his helmet. Colter shouted in rage as he felt the steel helmet bend from the shots. One punctured a hole in the metal. "You'll pay for that!" He shouted and returned fire as the electricity crackled back to life. Lizette rolled backwards, falling off of the Nuka bottle and hid behind it.

"Now I got you!" Colter growled and stomped towards the bottle she was standing behind. He watched to see if she would dart out from the other side. When she didn't, he knew he had her trapped. "I'm gunna make you suffer!" He rushed forward and moved around the side of the bottle, only to see the woman gone from behind it and his foot on a frag mine. As it beeped, he looked to his left to see the woman next to him, the thirst zapper at the ready. She fired a few squirts of water as she ran away to get clear of the blast.

Just as the electricity shorted out, the mine exploded, launching Colter into the air a few feet before making him crash into one of the motionless bumper cars. He felt blood pooling inside his suit. His body went cold and he barely managed to get the steel helmet off of his head before he coughed up blood.

Lizette walked to the raider Overboss and looked into his eyes. Colter glared and opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced by a rifle blast to his head. Lizette rested her rifle on her shoulder and turned to face the audience. The whole place fell as silent as their Overboss was.

 _"Holy shit! I don't…. I don't even know what this means! Colter, man, he's out!"_ The radio announcer reported over the loudspeakers. _"Gage… What the hell just happened?"_

 _"You saw it. We all saw it!"_ Gage said into the microphone in the terminal room, his voice playing through the speakers now. " _Colter's dead. We've got ourselves a new Overboss."_

Lizette turned to the window that looked in on the terminal room. Gage looked back at her and nodded his head. She returned the nod. Gage couldn't see, but the same small smile she had on the monorail was still spread across her face.

"This chick? Are you sure, Gage?" A large, muscular man with brightly colored face paint on asked, looking Lizette over.

"You better know what the hell you're doing." A woman in a round metal mask made of spikes added in.

 _"Hey! We talked about this! She survived the Gauntlet. She was smart enough to use the right weapon and strong enough to kill Colter. She's what we need."_ Gage shot back, quieting them. _"So how about we show some respect for our new leader, eh?"_

"She'll get respect when she earns respect." A woman in a business suit covered in armor replied in a pompous tone.

 _"Alright, alright. Now, get the hell outta here. I'll show the boss around."_ Gage said and waited for some of the crowd to leave before he would open the door to the terminal room, and ultimately the exit.

Lizette walked to the window looking in at the terminal room. "Tough crowd." She said.

"Yeah well… there's a lot to all of this that I'm gunna need to explain to ya. And I know you might be pissed that you got thrown in to all of that." Gage said to her.

"Me? Neh. Getting blown up, shot at, and used as entertainment to some deranged killers is just another day in paradise for me." She replied.

The raider chuckled. "Then you won't mind a little more of that then. Come on, let's get you the grand tour. Then I can tell ya why we need ya so bad." With a press of a button, the door swung open and Lizette walked into the terminal room. She put her rifle on her back and held her hand out in front of her, gesturing for Gage to lead the way.

The raider rolled his eyes and led the way out of the Cola Cars building. The cleanup crew, which was made up of a group of slaves from Nuka World, who were more used to dragging out the body of Colter's last victim, had a harder time removing the armor from the Overboss. Though they struggled with the weight and size of the Power Armor, they didn't seem to mind the task as much this time around.


	3. Chapter 2: Becoming a Raider

**_Chapter 2: Becoming a Raider_**

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 ** _A/N: To organize the story a bit better, anything that happened in the past prior to Lizette reaching Nuka World will be written in italics and will be separated by a line. The rest of the story will be in normal text. I hope you enjoy!_**

 ** _This chapter includes: Mild swearing and some blood._**

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 _Lizette woke hours later in a dilapidated wooden hut. She was laying on her back, which ached from being tossed into the room by whoever took her. She sat up with some difficulty and her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark interior. The whole room smelled of blood and bodily fluids as the cramped space was stuffed with five other people, all wearing tattered clothes. They each had a bomb collar on their necks, which blinked a red light signifying that they were active. There was little else in the room or on the walls, and the only light streamed in from cracks between the shoddy wood planks._

 _She groaned and tried to move, but pain shot from the wounds on her shoulder, chest and stomach. Each was now wrapped in less than spotless white cloth, but she could tell that they were not healing as if she were given a Stimpack. If she didn't find one of those soon, they would get infected, and then she would be in real trouble._

 _Moving her head to see around the room, she felt metal on her neck and under her chin. She ran her fingers over her own metal collar and sighed heavily. Not only was she in a grimy shack in the middle of God knows where, but if she did manage to run, the collar would trigger and explode. She tugged a little on it and was about to try standing when an older man slid over to her._

 _"_ _Hey there. Good morning." He said with a gentle and calm smile. When Liz tensed up, he raised a hand, indicating that he meant no harm. "It's ok. I am not going to hurt you. I was the one that healed your gunshot wounds. Damn raiders got you good, huh?"_

 _Liz didn't say anything. She looked him over suspiciously, keeping a little bit of distance between herself and him. She was shaking a little in fear. She knew it was silly to be afraid. Her dad had taught her that. But she couldn't help but quiver under these circumstances and what her future held._

 _The man sighed. "It'll be ok. Just… try to keep your head down and do what they tell you. They will leave you alone for the most part." He said and leaned against the wall next to Lizette, his legs crossed in front of him._

 _Before Lizette could ask him any questions, she heard voices coming from a group of three men. Their heavy boots hit the hard earth outside as they approached the door to their shed. "Let's try that new bitch out. Who should we put her against?" One voice said gruffly._

 _"_ _How about the blond one? From shed 2. You know, the one that killed that Brotherhood of Steel soldier for half a piece of razorgrain bread. Let's get her!" Another replied._

 _"_ _Now that's a good idea. I'll get 'er." The last of the group added and the sound of his boots trailed off as he ran to a different slave shed._

 _No sooner did the footsteps from the one man disappear that the door was thrown open. In the doorway stood two large men in the signature mismatched armor of raiders. They looked in at the small group of slaves, who all blocked the sunshine from their eyes with their hand. The one on the left scanned the room and pointed at Lizette. "You! Come 'ere! We got a little initiation party planned for you." He barked at her._

 _Lizette stood on shaking legs and walked towards them. The one on the left, not satisfied with the speed she was walking, grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the dusty ground just outside the door. Lizzie fell on her hands and knees, the dust that filled her lungs made her cough and wheeze. She looked around and found herself in the middle of a circle created by six rickety sheds, all with a number painted on the door. A few slaves stood around outside, but most must have been kept in these huts. If each held the same number of slaves, these raiders must have captured at least 30 people and held them here. For what reason, Liz had no idea._

 _She got to her knees, her stomach hurting from being thrown. The two raiders walked around her, sneering and laughing at her. "You look in bad shape, girl. Not feeling so great, huh? This might be a quick fight after all." The larger of the two said._

 _The door to the shack marked with the number two opened and out walked a fierce looking girl, a little older than Liz was. The girl was about a foot taller than she was, and had far more muscle. Her hair was straggly and clumps were missing. She looked like she had a pretty face with once delicate features, but the time she spent with the raiders wasn't a pleasant one._

 _The raider closest to Lizzie smiled wider. "So here's how it's going to work. This here is a death match. You kill blondie there or she kills you. If you win, I'll give you this Stimpack." He said, holding up the medical needle with the solution to saving her life. "If you lose... well... you wont need a Stimpack."_

 _The thought of killing someone almost made Lizzie sick. Sure, she had shot at raiders before, and animals and bugs. She had gone hunting and knew that death was just a way of life in the Wasteland. But the thought of killing another person, one that she didn't know deserved it, made her almost throw up. She got to her feet and shook her head, signifying that she refused to be a part of this._

 _The raiders laughed harder this time at Liz. "That's fine if you don't want to fight. But Blondie there sure doesn't seem to have a problem with it." The smaller of the three said as the girl from shed two rushed at Liz, knocking her down to the ground. When Liz's back hit the dirt, her breath was knocked out of her and she gasped to try to catch it. She barely had time to think before the blond was on top of her, her knees on either side of Liz's stomach._

 _The girl wrapped her hands around Liz's throat and started to squeeze hard on her windpipe. Liz scratched at the girl's hand and wrist, trying to get her to let go but the blond from shed two just kept pressing down on her. Liz's hand brushed along the dirt until it connected with a fist sized stone. Grabbing it, she slammed it into the temple of the girl._

 _The girl cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground, giving Liz a second to crawl away, coughing and taking in deep breaths of dust filled air. The blond started to get to her knees, blood streaming down from the wound to her head. Terrified, Liz spun around and slammed the stone into the girls head a second time, hitting the temple and knocking her back again. The girl lay motionless on the ground, but Liz was so scared and the adrenaline so strong in her body that she swung the rock three more times, aiming for the soft spot on the side of her head. Blood sprayed with each sickening thud before Liz stopped._

 _Liz dropped the rock and sat on her heels, her eyes wide with fear at the realization at what she just did. Her hands were covered in the dark red blood, and spray from the attack was on her face and chest. She had killed someone in cold blood for no other reason than self-defense. But that was a good reason, right? That was what she needed to do. She needed to survive this._

 _The three raiders roared with cheers and laughter at the surprising end to the fight. "That was great, girl! Blondie didn't know what hit her! Dumb bitch!" One called out through his chuckles. He walked to Liz, who was still staring at the body. He dropped the Stimpack next to Liz, who scooped it up in her hands and injected herself with it. Is this what she would become? An entertainer who killed people for whatever scraps these assholes would offer as a reward? Is that what the girl she killed did to survive?_

 _The larger raider grabbed Liz by the hair again, pulling her back to the shed. She threw her inside and slammed the door, locking it behind her. Liz was oblivious to the others in the shack, who looked at her with wide, almost fearful eyes. Lizette scurried to a corner of the shack and brought her knees in tight to her chest. She buried her face into her legs and tears started to pour down her face. A part of her was disgusted by her actions, another part tried to understand what was going on, but the worst part of her gave a different sensation, one that she hated to admit was even within her. Somewhere deep inside, she may have enjoyed that last killing blow. And that scarred her the most._

* * *

Lizette followed Gage through Nuka Town U.S.A. Shops and snack stands lined the mock streets of the fake town. Once colorful signs pointing out food, drink and ice cream shops now were falling from their perches above boarded up doors. The paint on the wooden and concrete structures were now faded and sickly. Trash lined the bottom of the walls, curbs and sidewalks. In front of her, Liz could see streets branching off from the main stretch, leading to different areas of the park. At the very end of the street she walked on was the mountain she had learned about on the monorail, Fizztop Mountain.

As they made their way towards Fizztop, Liz also noticed a round structure near the entrance to the park. In fact, it would be the first thing people would notice if they didn't come to the park through the Gauntlet that she ran through to face Colter. All around the round wooden structure were slaves with familiar collars and ragged clothes. They were working on cleaning the areas around Nuka Town, and avoiding the roaming raiders who kept them in line. Not one looked at Lizette as she and Gage walked past.

The raiders that roamed around Nuka Town were all well-armed and had distinct armor and clothing to depict what gang they were with. One group wore masks of animals and brightly colored clothing that mimicked fur, scales or feathers. Any exposed skin was painted with body paint. Another group wore road leathers and leather armor, and each wore a metal helmet on their head which covered their face. Dried blood covered much of their outfits, which was a good sign that others should be weary of them. The last of the three gangs' members wore what appeared to be business suits with metal armor over them. They were well groomed, for people living in the post-apocalyptic world, and had a look about them that made you feel unworthy of being around them.

Gage lead the rest of the way to Fizztop Mountain and pressed a button to bring the elevator down to the ground level. "Welcome home, boss." Gage said in his slight southern drawl. "I'll explain everything once we are inside. This here was Colter's place. Don't think he will be needin' it anymore." He said. The open yellow elevator in front of the building that stuck out from the front of the mountain touched down and the pair stepped aboard. Riding up to the top of the building, which was a round structure that once held a restaurant, Liz could see all of Nuka Town. She leaned on the rail, admiring her new little kingdom.

The elevator came to a stop at the top, and Gage opened the door for her to step off onto the platform. The room was scattered with tables and booths, with a bar in the middle of the room. Off to the right was a bed, dresser and a few chests to keep Colter's things in. Placed around the room were old, broken animatronic people in poses of servitude or bowing. The three slave women who served Colter stood near the elevator to welcome their new Overboss.

Liz scanned the room. When her eyes fell on the women, she shook her head. "What are these?" She asked, pointing at them.

Gage shrugged. "Colter's little helpers, he called 'em. They kept this place clean and cooked for 'im, I guess."

Liz sighed. "Get out. I won't be needing you here. Go back to… wherever it is the rest of you stay." She snapped at them. The women smiled happily and left without another word to Gage or the Overboss.

Gage smirked a bit and crossed his arms. "Well, now that we are here, let's get down to business. I guess I should tell ya a bit about how we got here and how all of this works. Want a drink or anything before we get started?" He asked and gestured to the bar.

Liz lowered her hood and pulled her mask off of her face, giving Gage a peek at what this new Overboss looked like. Liz's bright red hair was short and spikey, falling around her ears to the base of her skull. Her skin was very pale from being covered most of the time and her once bright blue eyes were now a steel grey. She had pretty features that were misleading to the type of person she was, though Gage wouldn't have the slightest idea about that just yet. Porter stared at her, thinking how this lovely woman was able to beat Colter, a monster of a man in his own way. Liz walked over to the bar, poured herself a glass of whiskey and leaned against the bar. "Alright, tell me everything I need to know."


	4. Chapter 3: Meeting the Leaders

**Chapter 3: Meeting the Leaders**

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks to everyone for the comments! Keep 'em coming. I love reading through them. Enjoy!**

* * *

"So, let me see if I got all of this down." Liz said, finishing her glass of whiskey. She had long since sat down as Gage had laid out what was happening in Nuka World. "So there are three gangs, the Pack, the Operators and the Disciples. They all own part of Nukatown, USA and they all hate each other."

"Right."

"Right. The rest of the park is full of all sorts of enemies, robots, bloodworms, feral ghouls, and the like. So your plan is to clear out the rest of Nuka World and divvy the space up among the three gangs." She continued.

"You got it, boss." Gage replied with a smile.

"And, in so doing, the three gangs will hopefully fall in line and we will be one big happy family here?" She asked.

"Well, there are bigger ideas, but one step at a time." The raider replied. "And I never said you were in this on your own."

"Oh that's right. It was your idea to get Colter to be Overboss and lead the takeover of this park. And, since he messed it up, this is your last shot to get things under control." She added.

"Well… yeah, I guess that's one way of puttin' it. If we can get this park under our control, we will have a serious foothold." Gage replied, leaning against a wall near her.

"Well, then… let's get started." She said and got to her feet. She found a loose map of Nuka World lying on the counter of the bar she was sitting at. "Which park should we start with?"

"First thing's first. You should probably go meet the leaders of the gangs. They need to know you're in control now. They'll fall in line, but you got to show them you mean business." He said.

Liz shouldered her rifle and looked at her second in command. "And what will you be doing?"

"Look, they already know me. They need to see that I ain't pullin' no body's strings here. You show 'em that you got a mind of your own, and we shouldn't have any trouble from 'em while we are clearin' out the rest of Nuka World." He said, motioning his head towards Nukatown. "Go talk to em, boss."

Liz sighed heavily and walked towards the elevator, leading back to the ground level. As she did so, she saw two members of the disciples dragging a man in blue overalls and a dirty white shirt back to their little slice of the park. They disappeared through the double doors under Fizztop Mountain, hostage in tow. Turning to look over her shoulder at Gage, she smiled and said, "See you in a bit then."

* * *

Liz first went to meet the Pack. Making it through Nukatown, admiring the still working lights of the Nuka Arcade, among other buildings, statues and rubble, she came upon the large gate separating the amphitheater from Main Street. Two pack members stood guard, wearing ludicrously vibrant costumes and animal masks.

"Looky here. The new Overboss has decided to grace us with her presence. Mason was wondering when you'd show up." The male on the right side of the door said.

"Welcome to the Pack's domain, boss. Remember, if you ain't standing out, you ain't living right." The female added, grinning behind her mask. "Head right inside."

Liz proceeded into the doorway without a word in response. Inside, Liz saw cages holding Traders with slave collars around their necks. Two or three Traders were walking freely, but were sweeping or cleaning up after the animalistic gang. She walked past the cage and through the walkway in between the old stands of the amphitheater. A fighting pit was seen in the middle, with a dog and Trader duking it out. Liz pushed memories out of her mind of things she had done in the past and walked around the pit.

All eyes were on her, whether they were Pack members or the Traders behind bars; they all wanted to know what the new Overboss would do now that she was in control.

Mason, who had just finished giving orders to one of his underlings from his throne of stuffed animal parts, noticed the Overboss and smiled. "There she is. The lady of the hour. Come to the Pack's den."

Liz made her way to Mason, her face devoid of emotion, humor, or any inkling of nervousness. "You must be Mason."

"Guilty as charged. And you…. You don't look like much. Thought that you'd have some badass scars under that mask of yours, but I gotta say, I'm disappointed. You sure that you have what it takes to be the Overboss of Nuka World?"

"You sure you want to keep questioning me like this? Might get me in a bad mood." She shot back, her eyes looking into Mason's with a fierce glare.

The leader of the Pack smiled and nodded. "Alright, point taken. I just want to know one thing from you. Are you going to do right by the Pack? 'Cause Colter promised us a lot of things to get us here, and he didn't do shit about it."

"And what would you say 'doing right by the Pack' entails?" She asked, her arms crossed over the metal armor under her jacket.

"Well, caps are always good. The more of that we can get our hands on, the better. But, honestly? We want some action, some place we can spread our wings a bit, some challenge to sink our teeth into. You get where I'm coming from?" He asked.

She nodded, with her eyes locked on his. "Yeah, I think I can make that happen. And in return, you're going to place nice and do as I say."

Mason chuckled. "Oh? You think you can just tell me what to do just like that? You may run Nuka World, but I run the Pack. And in this den, I'm the king of the jungle. Understand?"

Liz stayed quiet for a second or two, then a mean smile spread across her lips. She took a step closer to Mason, standing to be eye level with him. "I do. And I hope you understand… that you will do as you're told, or I'll put you down." Her voice was like ice, serious and cold.

It took quite a bit of strength to keep Mason from taking a step away from her. "Whoa… easy there boss. Not in front of my guys, alright? You got a lot on your plate without a power struggle within the Pack to deal with." He said, under his breath. A nervous smile appeared and he chuckled. "You know, I think you and I got an understanding of one another. I look forward to working with ya. And I have a little gift to show our… mutual respect for one another."

Mason snapped his fingers and one of the Pack jogged over to him, carrying a brightly colored gun, painted pink, orange and yellow. "From my personal stash." He added as Liz took the automatic rifle in her hand. She slipped it into an empty holster strap next to her combat rifle and nodded to Mason.

"Mutual respect." She said and turned to leave. Mason watched her walk away and sat back on his thrown. He rubbed his chin, thinking about the Overboss. There was just something he liked about her.

* * *

The Operators were located in the dinner theater building near the Pack's amphitheater. The outside of the building was decorated with metal spikes, barbed wire, and animatronic mannequins in either positions of bondage with their throats cut, or playful positions of control over the other mannequins. As Liz approached, the Operator at the door coolly lowered his glasses.

"Wow. Boss, you ah… you look different without that mask on." He said, raising his eyebrows with a grin. "Uh…. Mags and William are inside." He quickly added and opened the door for her. Liz shot him a hot glare before walking into the building.

William and Mags stood on the stage, discussing the arrival of the new Overboss. "Well, well… speak of the devil..." Mag's said.

Both Mag's and William Black wore business suits under customized metal armor. They both looked clean, well groomed, and seemed to be in better health then the average raider.

"And she shall appear." Liz continued, walking to them.

William chuckled. "So it would seem."

"What do we owe the honor of the new Overboss's visit?" Mag's asked with a smirk, her voice was condescending and borderline monotone.

"I came to see if the Operators are as I've heard." Liz said, looking around.

"Oh? And how is that?" Miss Black inquired.

"Formidable, well- armed, fashionable… So far, I'm impressed." Liz replied.

Mags huffed out a laugh. "Well, I suppose I am at a loss, because I can't say the same about you. No one knows anything about you, boss. But I doubt you came here to give us your life story, so I will ask you this. Do you know what the main goal of this place was before the bombs dropped?"

"To make money, of course." Overboss Liz replied.

"Exactly. Caps. This place was a temple for the greed of humanity. And we were promised that we would receive a mountain of them if we joined up." Mags said.

"And here we are…. Stuck in Nukatown. Haven't made much of anything yet and it's starting to get under our skin." William added.

At this, Liz smiled. "Oh, I intend to get the same thing done. What is the point of holding up in a place like this without making a hefty, and I mean _hefty,_ profit."

"Damn right." William cheered with a smile.

"So, I take it I have the Operators support with getting this place back in business of making a load of money?" She asked.

Mags looked at her brother and then back at the Overboss. "You keep your end of the bargain and we'll have your back. Don't go back on your promise though, boss. I hate broken promises."

Liz stuffed her hands into her pockets and nodded in a friendly way. "Of course. Wouldn't dream of it." She said and turned to leave the sibling duo to their scheming.

* * *

"I found him, he's mine!" Dixie shouted at Savoy within the Disciples underground base. All around the open interior of Fizztop Mountain were cages, metal spikes with body parts hung on them, traders and travelers alike hung on hooks or on displace in other gruesome ways. And on the base floor, in the center, were the two arguing gang members, their leader, Nisha, and one visitor to Nuka World that looked completely out of place.

"And I said it was a bad idea bringing him in here." Savoy growled back behind his metal mask.

The captive fought back the urge to vomit from the smell and sight of so much gore and blood, and finally found his voice. "Look, I don't want any trouble. I just came to trade. Some caravan said there were good deals here. Just… let me go and I'll leave." He tried to plead with them. His hands were chained together and he was kneeling next to Dixie.

"Hush now, sweetie. You don't have no say in this." Dixie snapped at the man and returned her attention to Savoy. "He wandered too close to our turf. He was warned to stay in the market. It's his own fault that he's here, and now I get to keep 'im."

"Enough!" Nisha cleared the air between the two bickering maniacs. "We have a guest and I don't want you two giving her the wrong first impression."

Dixie and Savoy turned to see the new Overboss standing in the doorway. She walked to the trio, giving a brief glance to the black haired man that was being fought over. "Dixie. Put your toy away. You can play with him after the Overboss leaves."

Dixie nearly jumped for joy when Nisha gave her the approval to keep the man. "Thanks, Nisha! I knew I could count on you." She said, and grabbed the chain around the man's wrists. "Come on, lover. You're with me."

The man stumbled to his feet and followed, reluctantly.

Nisha walked to stand in front of Liz. She was about as tall as the Overboss, not including the height add by her mask. Her leather armor was stained red from being drenched with blood more than once. She smiled a smug smile before introducing herself. "Sorry about that. I'm Nisha. Leader of the Disciples. I don't want to waste time with pleasantries, so here's how this is going to work. You make sure that we get our fill of blood and fun, and we'll back you. Plain as that. We don't care about caps, so don't bother promising us wealth. Leave that to those two stuck up pricks, the Operators. You keep us happy, and we'll stay with you."

Liz tilted her head, thinking. "And what, Colter didn't give you that?"

"Colter?" the raider chuckled. "He was a spineless idiot, but he had his uses. I'm glad he's gone. But I must admit, I am not impressed with his replacement. You don't look like you even know how to fight. I don't mean with a gun. Knives are much more…. Personal. But I'll give you a shot. A friendly warning; if you don't keep your end of the bargain, I'll give you a second smile across your throat. But that's nothing compared to what we'll do to Gage if his plan falls through a second time."

Liz paused for a moment and nodded. "I'm sure I can keep you all… entertained." She said.

Just as she finished her sentence, the man, his hands still chained, made a break for the door, rushing down the ramp. Before he could get past Nisha, Savoy tackled him to the ground. The two struggled before Savoy had him pinned.

Liz notices that the hostage wore a tool belt and a pair of welding goggles around his neck. She looked at Nisha and added, "How much for him?"

"Excuse me?"

"How much would it take to buy him?"

"He ain't for sale!" Dixie said, walking down the ramp from the upper level, where she had been trying to load her new 'toy' into a cage.

"Then how about a bet?"

Nisha thought for a moment. "What are the stakes?"

Dixie tried to protest before the Overboss continued. "I'll fight one of your own. Just knives, as you all seem to prefer them. I win, I get to keep him. You win, he's your's."

"Interesting…" the leader of the Disciples thought for a minute. "Fine. Savoy, would you do the honors?"

"Gladly." He said and stood from pinning the man on the ground. The rest of the Disciples, excited to see Savoy punish the new boss, rushed to form a circle around them. The captive who was being fought over stood by in the crowd, two of the gang members holding his arms to keep him from running again.

Liz took off her jacket and threw it on the dirty ground. She pulled a knife from her boot and held it in her right hand, the blade resting along her forearm. She stood tall, as Savoy fell into a fighting stance, a nine inch steel blade in his hand. The boss looked calm as Savoy made the first attack.

He made wide swings, each being dodged gracefully by the new Overboss. After two or three of these attacks, he lunged at her, aiming a stab for her stomach. Liz arched her body backwards, which was exactly what her foe had planned. With his free hand, he moved to grab her shirt to pull her to the ground. Liz planted her back foot and kicked him hard in the chest, sending him stumbling back before he could reach her.

As he was busy getting his feet back under him, Liz rushed forward and slammed her shoulder into him, knocking him to the ground. He scrambled to get up, but the slim woman sat on his chest, her dagger to his throat. The crowd cheered and whooped, chanting for the boss to end him with a slice to the neck. From her right, she could see Nisha's body tense. Though her eyes were hidden by her metal mask, Liz could tell that the leader was holding back her desire to step in and help Savoy.

Lizette looked down at her opponent and pulled the knife away from his throat, pocketing it as she straightened up. The crowd rang out in a round of boos at the lack of bloodshed. Liz calmly walked next to Nisha and quietly said, "Everyone has a weakness. I know yours. I expect I have your support and obedience."

Nisha didn't look to her side, but nodded ever so slightly in agreement. Liz grabbed the chain around the man's wrist and smirked at him, to the great dismay of Dixie. "Looks like you get to come with me."

* * *

"Look, Boss. I appreciate you getting me out of there. I don't want to be a bother for you anymore, so if you don't mind, I'll just get going." The man in the overalls said as he followed Liz to the elevator that lead up to Liz's new home.

"What's your name?" She said and stepped onto the platform, waiting for him to join her. The man, very reluctantly, stepped aboard and sighed.

"Sturges." He replied as the elevator started to rise.

"And what do you do, Sturges? Looks like you're handy, what with all the tools on your belt." She continued.

"Um… yeah, I guess so. I fix stuff, tinker, that sort of thing." He said.

"That's what I thought. I bet you can make all sorts of things. Like… improvements to my weapons and armor. I could always use a hand with that."

Sturges was about to reply when the elevator reached the top of the mountain. Gage looked at her and then at the man she had in tow. "And who the hell is this?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Gage, meet Sturges. He is my designated gun repair technician." She said and pulled the man off of the elevator platform. Once on solid ground, she worked on the chains, releasing him. Sturges rubbed his wrists and looked around.

"And you think he will still be here when we get back? Who's to say he won't run outta here as soon as we leave?" Gage asked, his arms crossed.

"Our neighbors will keep him in check." Liz replied. "After all, I took him from the Disciples. You think they won't drag his ass back as soon as they see him again?"

Sturges looked at Liz, nervously. "Alright, alright… no need to use threats. Guess I could stay for a while, make sure everything keeps working for ya. Least I can do for that rescue you pulled off."

"That's my man." She patted Sturges' shoulder and glanced over to Gage. "So… should we start with Kiddie Kingdom?"


	5. Chapter 4: Kiddie Kingdom

**Chapter 4: Kiddie Kingdom**

* * *

 _ **A/N: As a reminder, the italicized portions are events that happened in the past and makes up Liz's back story.**_

* * *

 _Lizette was still reeling from what she had done earlier that day. She had killed that girl in cold blood. Self-defense. That's what it was. Nothing else but self-defense. But she had a terrible thought that kept creeping into her mind. She could have stopped hitting her, could have maybe just knocked her out. She didn't have to kill that girl. But she did._

 _She sat in a lonely corner with nothing but her thoughts for hours. The other enslaved people that shared the cramp living space with her kept their distance. After all, this new little girl was covered in blood spray, and kept muttering to herself every once in a while. The man who healed her when she first arrived was the first to approach her. As he did before, the older man sat next to her and leaned his back against the same wall that she did._

 _After a few minutes, Lizette looked over to him. He smiled at her gently. "How you holding up, kid?" He asked. He looked a lot like Lizette's dad. Black hair flecked with gray, blue eyes, and a mustache. She seemed to relax around him a bit._

 _She stretched out her legs for the first time in hours and shook her head, silently. She couldn't find her voice. She stared down at her feet as he continued, "Look, no one here blames you for taking her out. We all have had to do things that we are not proud of to survive. It's just a way of life you have to get used to now. The best way to stay alive here is to do what you're told and keep your head down." He said and then pulled a jagged piece of metal out of his pocket, one that was sharpened to a point and looked like a weapon. "But you should always defend yourself." He said and placed the flat portion of the blade in her hand._

 _Liz looked at the blade and then back at him. The man smiled sadly at her. "You will need it more than me. Keep it close and use it when you need to."_

 _Before she could thank him, Liz heard heavy boots approaching their door again and she slid the blade up the sleeve of her shirt to hide it. The raider that pulled her from the rickety shed before opened the door and spotted her. "Hey, there's the champ. One of the bosses wants to see ya." He said and pulled her to her feet. With his hand wrapped around her arm, he lead her past the shacks into a large, concrete structure that was once a prewar factory of some sort. Through the large metal doors, Liz saw a foyer and a receptionist station before the rest of the building opened up to the factory floor. It was wide open, with machines and conveyer belts running in a maze of metal around the room._

 _The raider led her up a metal ramp to scaffolding that lead to one of the offices. The heavy door was pushed open with a whine. Inside was a bedroll on the ground to her right, a chest, and a small cooking fire with warm food in a pot. To her left, Liz saw a desk that was turned on its side and a smashed terminal, along with a_ _locker filled with guns, ammo, and even some caps and chems. Leaning against the bottom of the desk was a man, in patched leather armor. He was dirty, with brown dust all over his face. His hair was slicked back with grease and his eyes were black and soulless. He smiled a dark smile at her as she entered._

 _"_ _Thank you, Jacob. That'll be enough." He said and stood. The raider that led her there nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. "So, you are the one that beat our little boxing beauty. I must say, I'm not impressed." He walked towards Liz, his smile spreading further across his face. "But maybe you can take her place, hm? After all, you liked killing her, didn't you?_ _The rush as she fell before you, the thrill of the blood rushing down your wrist from the stone."_

 _As he moved around Liz, inspecting her more like a doll and less like a human, Liz hugged her arms around her body, her right hand moving up her left sleeve. She was shaking, unsure what this man had planned for her but she knew she wouldn't like it._

 _"_ _You know, I always liked her. She did what she was told… no matter what." He said and stood behind Liz. He put a hand on her shoulder and moved her hair away. He pressed a few buttons on the underside of the collar and it fell from her neck. "Let's see if you can do the same, hm? Turn around and face me."_

 _Liz stopped shaking and she turned around, a smile on her face. Her long red hair fell over her shoulders and made her look lovely in the low light of the cooking fire. She put her left arm over his shoulder and around his neck. She pulled herself closer to him as he placed his hands on her hips. She pulled herself closer and whispered in his ear, "You were right about one thing…" she whispered and slammed the chunk of sharpened metal into his stomach._

 _The man's eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to yell before Liz's hand covered his mouth. She pushed him to the ground and sat on top of him. He struggled to get her off of him, but her pretty face turned into a scowl and she placed the blade under his chin. She cut long and deep across his neck and held his mouth until his legs stopped twitching._

 _She wiped the blade off on his shirt before pocketing the knife in her pants pocket. She looked to the small arsenal, spotting a combat rifle and some ammo for it. She put on some of the smaller pieces of leather armor that the man wore and grabbed the weapon, checking to see a full clip already in it. She grabbed some extra bullets, checked to see if the coast was clear out of the office and slowly made her way to a door, marked "Exit."_

 _The door led to the roof, which was partially caving in. She walked carefully to a ladder, which lead out into the wastelands. In the distance, she saw the lights from burning fires at settlements that she could reach in an hour or less. She would be able to rebuild her life, start fresh maybe. To her right, she saw a staircase that lead down to the courtyard of the facility, to the circle of broken down shacks holding a few dozen enslaved people. She rubbed her neck, remembering the series of buttons that the raider had used to release her from her own collar. She could save them. She could get them all out of there._

 _She looked back to the settlements in the distance, across the dark wasteland. She then looked back to the shacks, swore under her breath and quietly made her way down the staircase._

 _She opened the shack she had been pulled from, the low lights of the outside making some of the people raise from a restless sleep. The man that healed her sat up and rubbed his eyes to clear them. He smiled when he saw the thin girl that he was sure was dead, or worse, standing in the doorway, combat rifle in hand and armor over her rags. She walked to him quietly and moved behind him, pressing the same sequence of buttons, making the collar pop off._

 _With his help, they freed each of the slaves in their shack, and then proceeded to the next one. With all of the slaves were free, the group sprinted for the wasteland. It's a wonder that the raiders hadn't noticed a thing, Liz thought just as voices started to shout out and guns started firing at the group. Liz and the older man were ushering people towards the wastes as the raiders gave chase after their running merchandise. The man was starting to slow down and couldn't keep up with the younger crowd._

 _He panicked, scared to go back to where they had been keeping him. He couldn't be slave again. He had to get away. Without thinking, he kicked his leg forward, tripping Lizette and making her fall. He ran past her, his eyes avoiding the horrible thing he had just done. He knew that the raiders would slow down for her, giving him a chance to get away. He grabbed the gun that flew out of her hands as she fell and left his rescuer to the die at the hands of the raiders._

 _Liz fell on her stomach and groaned. She looked up to see the rest of the slaves escaping and tried to get to her feet, but was stopped when a heavy boot slammed into her back and pinned her to the ground. She looked up to see a very angry raider scowl at her as he knocked her out._

* * *

"So, Kiddie Kingdom has the ghouls." Lizette said, pulling her rifle out as she walked to the gates of the Child's portion of Nuka World.

"Yup. Mostly feral, but a voice kept yellin' at us over the loud speaker last time we tried to clear it out, tellin' us to get out. Gotta be one in there with half a brain left." Gage replied and did the same. "Oh, and one more thing I need to warn ya about, boss."

"What's that?" She asked. As she finished her question, a blast of radiation mist hit her nose, making her jerk away from the gates and gag. She quickly put her mask on her face to keep out some of the mist. She shot Gage a quiet glare. "Really?"

Gage smiled and chuckled, before he tied a rag over his mouth to help him breath. "Sorry." He said and took a dose of RadX, giving one to her as well. She took it without any form of thanks to the raider.

The two walked into the gates and were faced with a ghostly kingdom, straight off the pages of a nightmarish fairy tale. All around were decrepit buildings, collapsed houses, and rusted kiddie rides. Everything looked as if it was once brightly painted, with child friendly characters and shops; all of which were lining a stone path that ran through the park.

Lizette lead the way over the threshold of the gate when one of the speakers crackled to life. "Well, well! You raiders don't know when to quit, do you? Wanted to see the show again? Alright then! Up! Up Performers! Show these two what fear really is!" A gruff voice rattled into the microphone, causing the surrounding rubble to stir.

From beneath the collapsed walls, on the platforms of the still spinning rides, and out of the broken windows of boarded up shops, hideously mutated feral ghouls crawled, shambled and sprinted towards the intruders in swirling pinks, purples, greens and yellows. Someone had painted the feral ghouls to resemble the colorful characters of the park.

As they approached, Overboss Liz leveled her rifle and shot the flailing monsters in the head, dropping them one by one. Gage provided backup, and cleared out any that slipped past Liz, or came from an angle that she wasn't aiming at. When everything other than the two raiders were nothing more than twitching corpses again, the voice returned, accompanied by more mist.

"Oh, Bravo! You are better than the other raiders that tried to clear us out before. But don't worry. You'll die, just like the rest. Think you can change your fate? Come find me in the fun house, or the theatre, or maybe I'm in the tunnels under the park. Let's see who the real monster is." The speakers screeched and fell silent.

"Well… where should we start?" Gage asked, looking for more ghouls.

"The Funhouse sounds like a trap. I guess the theater is a good place to start." She replied and walked to a billboard with a map of Kiddie Kingdom displayed on it. Gage followed her and looked over the map as she traced the path they needed to take with her finger. "Alright, let's get moving."

* * *

Walking down the winding stone path, the Overboss and her lackey fought their way to the theater, which was housed inside of a castle overlooking the whole kingdom. Gage opened the door and Liz walked in first. The entrance way was dark and gloomy, with a moldy red carpet laid out in front of them. The fake stone walls and damaged wood floors reeked of mildew and water damage from the roof that was caving in. On either side of a long ticket counter, two archways lead to the theater itself, the seats still standing and facing the stage.

Gage stood next to Liz as they looked around the entrance way. "Yeah, this is fine… I didn't want to sleep tonight anyway." He said with a sigh. Liz chuckled behind her mask and walked towards the right entry way, checking for any more feral ghouls. As she made her way in, a woman's voice chirped over the speaker system inside of the castle. "And now! The moment you've all been waiting for…. The one and only… Oswald the Outrageous!" A fan fair followed the intro as a puff of smoke brought forth a ghoul in a top hat and tuxedo, his body riddled with so much radiation that it was glowing beneath his skin.

The ghoul walked to the edge of the stage and talked to the Overboss. "You think you can just walk into our home and take us out? I see that my tricks at the other locations aren't going to be bothering you. I do believe that I will just deal with you, here and now." He said with another puff of smoke, disappearing and reappearing behind the pair. In his hand, he held a sword and used it to swing at Gage. The raider spun around to defend himself with a blast from his rifle. Oswald jumped to the side to avoid the shots, only to feel the barrel of Liz's gun in his side. She fired, spraying radioactive blood all over the ground.

Oswald growled from the hit and withdrew, disappearing in another puff of smoke. "Better than I expected… Sorry, but I'm afraid you won't get me that easily. Good luck finding a way up to me." He said and the speaker fell silent again.

"I hate ghouls… You alright?" Liz asked Gage, who nodded.

"Yeah, just nicked me." He replied. "What's the plan? Can't let our gangs move in with that nut job around."

"Our gangs?" Liz asked.

"Well, your gangs, boss. You know what I mean." He said with a shrug.

Liz huffed out a humorless laugh and walked to the stage to see if there were trap doors, or other ways to move about the building. As she walked backstage, she found an elevator, but when she pressed the button to bring the car down, a loud buzzing noise sounded. She looked closer and saw that she would need a badge of some sort to get it moving to the upper levels.

"Hm. Looks like employees only. I bet if we look around, we cou-" Gage's suggestion was cut off when Liz blasted the faceplate off of the elevator button with a shot from her rifle. He looked over and saw her cut some of the wires and connect a few together. With a spark, the elevator started to move. "Or, we could do that… You know about computers, huh?"

Liz nodded. "Yup. Electronics were kind of a hobby of mine." She said and she stepped into the elevator. Gage followed and they rode the car up to the top. When the doors opened, Oswald was working on bandaging his gunshot wound. He looked over and glared at the raiders as they exited the car.

"You raiders are all the same. You just take whatever you want, and don't bother to care about anyone else." He said. "You think you are doing the world a favor by killing all of the ghouls, but you are more of a monster than any of them could ever be. You won't be killing any more of my friends."

"You're right. Just you." Liz replied and aimed quickly, firing at the glowing ghoul. He rolled to the side to escape her fire, but was hit in the leg. Gage followed suit and opened fire on the spot that he rolled to, splattering more glowing green goo on the scaffolding that lined the interior walls of the castle.

Oswald howled in pain and coughed, trying to crawl away from the pair once the bullets stopped flying. He slumped to the ground and fell in a heap on the metal scaffold. Liz walked to him and rolled him over onto his back with her foot. "Please… Leave this place to the ghouls. This is their home."

"Mm… no." Liz said, and fired a shot into the ghouls' head. She put her rifle back in its holster on her back and walked to the window that led outside. "Come on Gage. We have to mark this for one of the gangs." She said and walked out on the ledge.

The flag pole she wanted to use sat at the top of a section of the roof of the castle. To reach it and place the flag for the gang that she was giving the park to, Liz walked along the ledge. There was a sizable gap that someone had covered with two rickety boards, allowing her access to the pole. After she crossed them, she looked back to see Gage standing just before the gap. "Well, come on." She said with a smile. "I made it just fine."

"Yeah, I'm good over here. Just plant the flag so we can go back down." He replied, looking at the boards, then to the long fall to the stone path below.

"Oh, come on…. Just a few steps." She said and lifted her mask from her face, as the air was much clearer up here. She put it in her pocket and crossed her arms, waiting.

Gage sighed heavily and took a few steps away from the boards. He made a quick dash to try to reach the other side as fast as possible. Before he made it, the boards gave way and fell to the ground below. Gage managed to reach out and grab the ledge with one hand. "God damn it! Boss! A hand, here!" He called to her. He looked up at the ledge to see Liz smiling down at him.

"You know, Gage… I have been meaning to have a chat with you… This seems like a good time." She said and squatted down to be closer to him.

"You've gotta be fuckin' kiddin' me." Gage growled, pissed that he was so stupid as to trust her.

"Now, before, you said that it was… our gangs, didn't you?" She asked.

"It was a slip of the tongue, boss!" He said, angrily.

"That may be true, but you got rid of Colter, didn't you? You got rid of the old Overboss when he didn't fit into your little scheme anymore. That got me thinking… maybe you want to be the Overboss. Maybe one day, I will find a knife planted in my back because you were no longer in charge behind the scenes. That worries me, Gage." She said, looking down at him from the safety of the ledge.

Gage's grip was slipping. He swung his other hand to grab ahold of the ledge before he responded. "You ain't like Colter. You've done more in the short time you've been here than he did in a year. Hell, you cleared out one of the parks. You got what it takes to be the real deal here. Wouldn't be fighting alongside ya if I thought ya couldn't do it."

"So, we have an understanding then that you don't make the decisions here. I do. You are not the Overboss. You follow my orders. And that's how this relationship of ours is going to be." She said after a moment of thinking it over.

"'Course, boss. That's how the arrangement always was." He replied.

"Good, glad that's over with." Liz said with a smile and grabbed his wrist. Placing her foot on a portion of the roof that stuck up at an upward angle, she used it as leverage to pull the raider up to safety on the ledge. Gage crawled forward, breathing heavily from the adrenaline pumping through his veins. From the corner of his eye, he saw a hand reaching out to him.

He looked up and Liz helped him to his feet. She patted his shoulder with a friendly smile and walked the rest of the way to the flag pole. As she worked on attaching the flag of the Pack and hoisting it up the pole, he smirked a bit under the rag on his face. She was crazy, but damn if she couldn't get shit done.


	6. Chapter 5: The Galactic Zone

**Chapter 5: The Galactic Zone**

* * *

"Wakey, wakey, girl…." _A voice came through the darkness to Lizzie, bringing her back through the abyss. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around her. Her head and body ached for food, water, and rest. It had been days since she had any of it, and it was starting to take its toll._

 _She found herself in a room. The walls were cement, indicating that she was back in one of the offices of the factory. The lights were dim in this room, and the shadows seemed to move, as if made of smoke. She squinted, trying to get the world to focus, but everything around her seemed like it was in a dream. The people in the faded safety posters seemed to be moving, pointing at her, laughing at her. She had never tried a chem before in her life, but she imagined this is what it felt like to be on one._

 _She tried to move her hands to her head, but she was bound to a chair. She groaned slightly, and her voice sounded like it was coming from someone in a corner across the room. She twisted her wrists to free her hands, but that did nothing but hurt her already raw wrists._

 _"There she is… The toughest little slave girl I ever saw…" A voice said, coming from her left. She looked over to see a beast of a man. He stood almost seven feet tall, with a long brown beard and brown hair. He was muscular, with huge arms and shoulders. He was in his late thirties, which was old for a raider. He wore thick leather armor and boots, adding to his overall size. He looked more like a bear than a man. "You killed my second in command." He continued, walking in front of her and taking a knee to be eye level with her._

 _Liz didn't speak, just looked up at him, her eyes hollow and emotionless. The man was terrifying to look at. Through Liz's eyes, he was a monster. But, what good would it be to show fear to him? She couldn't change her fate, not in her predicament._

 _The giant looked her over and roared with laughter when she looked at him as she did. "And I bet the prick deserved it too." He said with a chuckle and grabbed her chin, into her eyes. "But you… There is something in your eyes. You have something that I think we could use in a raider." His voice was, surprisingly, soothing to Liz. That didn't stop her from showing her disdain at the thought of being a raider. She pulled her head from his touch and looked away from him._

 _"Heh. Defiant." He said and chuckled. "Bet your parents taught ya that raiders are the enemy. But let me level with ya. This world… it ain't fair, kid. You gotta take what you can, when you can, and from whoever you need to. 'Raider' is just a name that people use because they are too scared to face the truth. Everyone is all the same." He stood up, casting a shadow over the teenager. She looked up at him, skeptically._

 _"Don't look at me like that. They are. Everyone out here is looking out for their own skin. It just takes some folks longer to realize it. And for a lot of assholes, they find out too late. It ain't until they are bleedin' from a bullet hole that they realize if they had just done what they needed to, they would still be kicking." He finished, his eyes still locked with Liz's._

 _Liz watched his eyes. They seemed to cut through her, into her. Reading her thoughts, the doubts she had been having. When she didn't look away after a moment or two of silence, the raider brought out a knife. "Tell ya what, kid. I got a surprise for ya. You come and see what it is, and if you accept it, we might just be able to make a raider outta you yet. If you don't like it, well, then I guess you get to go back to being the dumb ass slave who just can't stop trying to go against nature." He slid the blade under her wrists and cut the ropes._

 _Liz rubbed her hands over her wrists and slowly got to her feet. The raider took her arm gently in his massive hand, and started to walk her to another room down the hall. The posters hanging on the walls seemed to be egging her on, some cheering as she walked past. When they stopped at another set of double doors, the bear opened them and walked her inside._

 _Liz saw a group of people, all in the traditional mismatched armor of raiders, lining the left and right side walls of what was once the break room of the factory. Overturned tables were pushed against the blue, concrete walls. The broken tiled floor was almost invisible under the rubble, and the only light in the room was from one ceiling fan, and the red glow of a Nuka Cola machine._

 _In the center of the room was a man, tied to a chair. It was the man she had rescued, the slave that had tripped her so that he and the other slaves could get away. Liz looked into his eyes. He no longer reminded her of her father. No, this man was a coward. This man was weak and cruel, and he deserved to die for what he did._

 _The man opened his mouth to speak to her, but all she heard was a ringing in her ears. The sounds of the raiders who were cheering for her to hit him, the gentle voice of the raider bear behind her pushing her to do what needed to be done, the man's pleas for mercy and apology for what he had done… all of it was drowned under the ringing. Liz curled her fists and charged at the bound man._

 _She slammed her fist into his right cheek. Then into his left. She then slammed a knee into his stomach, and an elbow at his nose. The flurry of attacks did little but give him a nose bleed. She took a step back, out of breath and a tear forming in her eye. She couldn't hurt him with her little amount of strength._

 _As she stood, staring at her target, the handle of a bat slid into her hand. Through the ringing, a voice came loud and clear. It wasn't the raider boss, it wasn't the man who she had hit, it wasn't the crowd… but it was loud, and it was calming, and it spoke to her._

 _" **He left you to die. He chose his own life over yours. Just like that raider said. All of us are the same."**_

 _"All of us are the same." Liz repeated under her breath. Her grip tightened on the bat as she listened to the voice again._

 ** _"You went back for him. You could have left him… could have made it to a settlement, but you tried to do the right thing. You saved them all. And what did they do?"_**

 _"Tripped me. Took my gun. Left me to die." The words flowed from Liz, making the raiders in the room pause their cheers. They looked at one another, confused as to what the little slave girl was doing. Liz didn't pay attention to them. She was focused on the voice._

 ** _"They all did. None of them came back for you. None of them cared to even try to save you. Do you know why?"_**

 _"Because everyone's the same." Liz whispered, a tear running down her cheek._

 ** _"That's right. Everyone takes what they want, when they want, from who they want. Only idiots figure it out too late. You're not an idiot, are you?"_**

 _"No…" She whispered and her face transformed into a scowl._

 ** _"Then take… what you want…" The voice faded back into the constant ringing._**

 _Liz howled in rage and charged at the man in the chair. She landed blow, after blow with the bat. She aimed at his head, neck, shoulders, body, knees and throat. With each sickening blow to him, blood splatter and cries of pain accompanied them. Liz's last hit was a two handed bash to the top of his head. The man's body started to twitch for a few seconds, and then didn't move again._

 _Covered in blood and sweat from the beating, Liz dropped the bat at her side and took a step or two back. The ringing in her ears had stopped, and the sounds of the raiders cheering her on filled her with a strange sense of belonging. She stopped when her back hit the legs and stomach of the raider king. She looked up at him. He smiled down to her with gentle eyes. "Welcome to the gang, kid."_

 ***Blam!*** The blast from Lizzie's combat rifle ripped a hole through the broken screen of a robot that was busy trying to spray her down with highly irradiated Nuka Cola. The red menace fell at her feet, sparking. She stepped over it and walked through the arch way into the Galactic Zone.

The Galactic Zone was a park dedicated to the space age and the world of tomorrow. It was also heavily commercialized and funded by different corporations. Even big names from the prewar days, such as Robco and Vault Tech, sponsored rides and exhibits to push their products. The whole park was now made of rusting blue colored metal and a path fit for a space station. All of the shops, signs and stands were decorated for the space traveling park goer.

"This place was so messed up." Liz said as Gage joined her from clearing out a protectron, painted bright red to match the Nuka Cola theme.

"More so than it is now?" He asked her.

"I don't know about THAT, but damn. What parent would want to have their kids sprayed with radioactive soda?!" She asked, with a shake of her head. "Tsh, some people."

Gage shook his head with a smirk as he followed the Overboss into the park. They made their way up the main street, towards a place known as Star Command. According to what Gage told Liz as they walked from Kiddie Kingdom to this metal monstrosity, if they could use the computer terminals in the Star Command structure, they would be able to shut down all of the robots, allowing for another gang to move in. After killing a few more robots along the way, the pair finally made it to a tall, cylindrical building at the center of the park. When they approached, the glass door opened upward, giving a view of all of the computer terminals, and of a display of a set of Power Armor standing on the moon.

Liz gasped and her eyes went wide. She walked towards the glass display and ran her hand over the surface. "My god… Gage… look at this…." She said, in awe.

"Yeah, boss. It's a nice suit of Power Armor." He said and didn't give the suit more than a glance before he walked to the computer terminal.

"Not just any Power Armor, Gage…. It's perfect. I bet it was never used…. Hell, no one has probably ever been in it… I want it, Gage." She said, taking in every detail.

"How 'bout we focus on the park first. We can always come back for the suit. If it's still here, it probably isn't easy to get to." Porter replied as he pressed a few buttons on the terminal, reading the output on the screen.

Liz sighed, dreamily, and walked up the stairs to the platform where Gage was. "Yeah, yeah… alright. Always business with you." She said with a smile. "What are we looking at, chief?"

"Well, looks like we need to collect something called… a star core. We need enough of 'em to shut down all of the robots. Looks like we need twenty of 'em."

"And how many do we need to get to the Power Armor?" Liz asked. Gage looked back at her and she shrugged with a smile.

Gage groaned. "Looks like, 35 for that thing." He replied. "And not all of 'em are in the park, so… we really will have to come back for it."

Liz sighed again. "Fine fine…. Let's see… What do these Star Cores look like?"

"No idea… But I bet they are easy to find." Her partner replied, standing up from the chair.

Liz pulled a glowing circuit board from her bag under her coat and slipped it into one of the empty slots on the machinery around the room. She smiled when it seemed to fit, and part of the machine seemed to power up. "Hey! I got one!"

"Where the hell did you pick that up from?" Gage asked, standing up.

"From a corpse by the entrance."

Gage shook his head again. "Great. Just 19 more now." He said. "Come on. They are probably in these prewar rides."

"And that is number 15 in place." Gage said, placing another Star Core into the machine. The pair had cleared out a few of the rides looking for these damn things. They even had to fight alien animatronics in a rollercoaster to get a few of them. They were getting close, though. Real close.

"Hmm… Looks like there are five of them in some old theater that played movies. That's probably a safe place to pick up the last that we need." Liz replied, looking at the monitor again.

"Can't wait to be done with these damn robots." Gage added and waited for her before walking out of the building and towards the theater. The two had cleaned up most of the robots wandering outside of the buildings in the park, so walking to their last objective was fairly quiet and safe.

As they rounded a corner, Liz broke the silence between them. "Before we go in there, I just want to clear the air about what happened on top of the castle."

"No need, boss." Gage replied. In reality, Gage never trusted anyone, so he wasn't really surprised when she almost let him fall to his death from the top of a kiddie castle. But, then again, he had never met anyone like Liz before. She was different. Capable, strong willed, a little crazy, maybe. But in the end, she was just another example of why he didn't trust anyone.

"No, there is a need. Sorry I had to scare ya like that." She said, looking at him as they walked with a smile. "I mean, it had to be done and all, but I want you to know that it won't happen again. There's something about you, Gage. I can't put my finger on it, but it's just… I feel like we really are in this together. Ya know?"

"Yeah boss. Couldn't agree more." He replied in as sincere a voice as he could muster.

Liz patted his back. "Good man. Now, let's go see what's playing at the theater." She said and held the door open for him. They both walked in to a darkened theater, where a movie was still playing on the big screen. The floor in front of it was littered with cars that were repurposed to be tables where people would eat dinner and watch a movie. A ticket booth sat in front of them upon arrival, and a hallway stretched to the left and the right. The walls were covered in deep red wallpaper, giving off a cheesy, classy vibe to the whole place.

"You go check the ticket booth and concession stand, I'll check the back offices and kitchen. Then, we will both head up to the second floor, deal?" She asked to Gage, checking how many bullets she had in her clip.

"Yeah, sounds good. Seems pretty quiet in here." He responded, in a low tone.

"Yup. Be careful all the same, alright?" She said with a smile and walked to the left hallway.

Gage watched her go and walked into the main movie area, looking around behind the counter where an old popcorn machine sat, rusting.

"Intruder detected." A robotic voice was heard as Gage was bent over the counter. "Initiating combat."

"Shit…." Gage said and hopped over the counter just as the bullets started flying. The shots from two machine guns riddled the top of the wooden counter, where Gage had just been leaning. He looked up when there was a break in the gunfire to see a giant sentry bot, painted white to match the space theme of the Galactic Zone.

"Target Reacquired!" It said and opened fire on the small portion of Gage's head that had popped up to see what kind of enemy he was facing.

"God damn it!" He cringed, one of the bullets grazing his cheek as he ducked back down. He was a sitting duck, and he couldn't even pop up and return fire without being pumped full of holes. As he leaned against the counter for cover, he heard the heavy wheels rolling towards him. If the robot was able to get close enough, he would be shot like a fish in a barrel. He held his gun tight to his chest and aimed up, waiting for the robot to come into view over the countertop.

"Over here, tin can!" Liz shouted from behind the robot and fired a few shots into its back. "Come on!"

"Target acquired. Reassessing strategy." The bot turned and started to fire at the new threat.

"Gage! Aim for the targeting sensor on its back!" The Overboss shouted to the raider, who stood up fast and laid a few well-placed rounds into the back plate of the robot. The sensor, now damaged, started to overheat. Gage ducked behind the counter again as the death machine exploded into a flurry of flaming metal and electricity.

When the dust had settled, Gage got to his feet and looked over to see Liz poke her head out from the pillar she was taking cover behind. He smiled at her. "You alright?"

"Yeah…. You alright?" She asked back.

"Yeah." He chuckled and hopped over the counter, walking towards the husk of the machine. He watched as Liz walked towards it too, holding her shoulder. "Shit, boss… Did you get hit?"

"Eh, just once…. Or twice." She said and moved her jacket. Her thigh was bleeding from a shot as well, and she fell to one knee. Gage walked quickly over to her, a Stimpack in his hand before he saw her inject herself with her own.

"There…. No big deal." She said and waited a second or two for the wound to close. She got back to her feet and smiled at him. "Good as new."

"Why did you do that…?" Gage asked. "You could'a just shot the sensor thing yourself. You didn't have to draw its fire."

"If I had shot it where it was, it would have blown up and taken you with it." She said, putting her gun in its holster. "Couldn't have that."

"Uh… well… thanks, boss." Gage replied, in a softer tone. He felt awkward. No raider he had ever run with would have done that, let alone the Overboss.

"Like I said, no big deal. We're in this together, right?" She asked, walking past him to the robot to see if there was any ammo or parts to salvage from it.

"Yeah… together." He repeated, a faint shadow of a smile crossing his lips, which he hid before the Overboss saw it.

With a snap, the last of the twenty star cores were put into place. Liz shut down all of the remaining robots in the Galactic Zone and took a deep breath. "Well, that finishes that up. Now, to hand it out to one of the gangs."

She lead the way up the ramps to the flagpole at the top of Star Command and attached the flag of the Operators to the line, hoisting it high into the air.

"Operators. Good choice, boss." Gage said with a nod.

"Yeah, I figured they wouldn't trash it much worse than what it already is. I kinda like this place, myself." She replied and patted his shoulder when she passed him. "Next up. Dryrock Gulch."


	7. Chapter 6: Dry Rock Gulch

**Chapter 6: Dry Rock Gulch**

* * *

 _ **A/N: Just wanted to let folks know that I am planning on getting these raiders and Liz into the Commonwealth in the next few chapters. Thanks for reading the story. I am having a lot of fun with it. Leave me a review and tell me what you think about it so far!**_

* * *

"Howdy. Pardner. Welcome. To. Dry. Rock. Gulch." The monotone voice of a protectron wearing a cowboy hat greeted Overboss Lizette and Gage as they entered the sandy, Wild West town inside Dry Rock Gulch. The theme of this park was a western mining town, focused on roller coasters and saloons. Each building was made of wood with advertisements for Nuka Cola Wild everywhere. The dry, cracked ground beneath the raiders' feet was pockmarked with holes from insects that had burrowed under the ground, varying in size from small ant tunnels, to giant holes, big enough for a mole rat to dig through.

Liz walked to the protectron with a suspicious look. "Uh…. Howdy." She said, feeling stupid as she returned its greeting.

"Am. I. Glad. You. Have. Come. I. Need. A. New. Deputy. To. Help. Me. With. These. No. Good. Outlaws. What. Do. You. Say. Little. Doggy. Want. To. Be. My. Deputy?" The robot asked.

"No good outlaws?" Gage chuckled. "Does it mean us or someone else?"

Liz rolled her eyes. "What do we need to do to get rid of these outlaws?" She asked, still having no idea what the hell this damaged bucket of bolts was talking about.

"They. Are. Hold. Up. In. _Mad Mulligans Mine._ I. Have. A. Key. To. The. Mine. Locked. Away. In. A. Safe. But. Wouldn't. You. Know. It. I. Plum. Forgot. The. Combination. I. Will. Give. You. My. Portion. Of. The. Passcode. But. You. Will. Have. To. Get. The. Rest. From…"

As the Protecton droned on about what the pair had to do to save Dry Rock Gulch from outlaws, Liz walked around to the back of the unit. With a blast from her rifle, she opened the back panel and cut a few wires. Gage leaned over to see what she was doing as a spark and a flash filled the Protectron's glass dome with smoke. The robot stopped talking for a second or two. Liz rejoined Gage in front of the robot.

"Protectron Unit. State the combination code to the safe." Liz said in a commanding voice.

"Combination. Code. 3. 8. 5. 2. 4. 2. Thank. You. For. Visiting. _Nuk. World_." It said and walked away to achieve its new programing.

Liz smiled at Gage. "Seemed like an easier choice." Gage returned the smile and was about to agree when the ground under their feet started to shake. "What the hell is that? A tremor?"

Gage pulled out his rifle and aimed at the ground. "Bloodworms! Ready up, boss!" He shouted to her.

Liz grabbed her combat rifle and watched as a large worm shot out of the ground. Its body was covered in spikes, and its mouth was split into four lips, all lined with sharp teeth. Once it landed, it rocketed towards the raiders. Liz raised her gun and fired a few rounds, taking it down. Gage did the same to another worm that was crawling towards them from the way they had entered the park.

Three more worms sprang from under the dirt, trying to make the new comers their next meal. Liz and Gage fought back-to-back to clear out the worms. As the last one made its way towards Gage, his gun jammed. He slammed his fist onto the bolt to try to fix it, but it wouldn't budge. The bloodworm leapt off of the ground to latch itself onto the man's head when a bullet blasted its way through its open mouth.

Gage looked to his right to see a 10mm pistol aimed over his shoulder, held in the black gloved hand of the Overboss. She looked at him, disappointed. "When was the last time you cleaned your weapon?" She asked with a huff.

"A day or so ago. I know how to take care of it, but… this fuckin' dust here probably messed somethin' up." Gage replied and sat on a rusting bench, looking his rifle over.

"We don't have time for that right now. We'll have Sturges look it over when we get back." She said and held out her pistol. "Can't believe a raider like you doesn't have a god damn back up."

Gage, grudgingly, took the pistol from her hand when he stood up. He put his rifle away. "I do. It's called a knife."

"Yeah, well, you tell me how that knife would've helped us in that last fight." She said and turned to head towards some of the building to find the safe. Gage followed behind her.

* * *

Using the key Lisette found in the safe, she opened the door to Mad Mulligan's Mine, a rollercoaster that had fallen into disrepair when the bombs initially dropped. Liz lead the way, her rifle up at the ready. Gage followed with his 10mm pointed to the ground. The first room was quiet. Almost too quiet. The pair had cleared out most of the town of the bloodworms. With this being one of the last places that they needed to clear, Liz figured this would be the place to find a nest, or a hive, or breeding ground; whatever these worms used to spawn.

The pair made their way down a tunnel, which was once the line for the ride itself. Along the way, they found small pockets of openings that held scenes from the old west. Animatronics welcomed park goers and kept them entertained while they waited for hours for a five minute rollercoaster ride. In one such space, Liz noticed a Big Horn on its side, dead. She didn't think much of it, until she noticed its stomach moving up and down. Not like it was taking break, but like something was moving inside of it.

Gage had his back to her as he looked over the body of a rancher who had been killed not so long ago. "Hey boss… I think there might still be people livin' here. This body ain't been dead for more than a week." He said. When he didn't get a response, he looked back to see the Overboss walking up to a dead Big Horn. He, too, saw the creatures stomach moving unnaturally. "Boss, don't!" He tried to stop her before the beast's stomach burst into a bloody mess in front of Liz.

Liz let out a surprised yelp, taking a blind shot at the multiple young bloodworms that were disturbed from feeding on the inside of the big horn. She could barely see clearly, as some of the blood from the big horn landed on her face and, in disgust, she tried to wipe it off. The baby bloodworms regained their composure and set their sights on their next meal.

Gage hoped over the railing to the display and rushed to help Liz. He shot a few down with his 10mm as he ran, and brought out his knife in his other hand. Liz was able to wipe the big horn blood from her eyes in time to see Gage put himself directly in front of her and bury his knife inside the open mouth of the young bloodworm as it launched at the two of them.

When everything settled down, Gage looked over his shoulder at her. "You alright, Boss?"

Liz nodded with a smirk. "Guess that makes us even. I appreciate it, Gage."

He put away his knife and shrugged. "Don't mention it." He replied and motioned back to the path they were taking with his pistol. "Ready to go?"

Liz pulled her rifle back out, took the lead again and walked on to the heart of the mine. There, the two found the bloodworm queen, surrounded by more big horn breeding buffets. The two split up to wipe out all of the bloodworms, and killed the queen to stop any future reproduction. After mopping up any stragglers, the pair exited the mine.

Looking up at the sky and the setting sun, Liz sighed. "Should probably start to head back. Get that gun looked at and I could use some grub."

"Yup. Sounds like a plan." Gage replied. The raiders stopped to hoist the flag of the Disciples over the old west town before they started to head back to Nuka Town.

"So, where do you raiders get something to eat?" She asked.

"We have a small bar in Nuka Town. Or one of the traders sells food and meals."

"Hm… Grabbing some food and heading back to Fizztop seems like a good idea to me. You in?" She asked.

Gage raised an eyebrow. "Like…. Eat together? You and me?"

"Like…. Yeah, that's what I said." Liz replied with a chuckle. "What, didn't you and Colter eat and scheme together?"

"No. It didn't take long before I realized that Colter and I didn't see eye to eye on anything. Didn't have any reason to sit with him after a while, let alone eat with him."

"Well, too bad. That's changing starting today." She linked her arm with his and walked back to Nuka Town with him. Gage looked confused at being this close with Liz, but thought it might be better not to push the Overboss away or he might be hanging from Fizztopnext.

* * *

Gage followed Liz into the Market. This was the first time the new Overboss visited, so most of the shop owners stopped what they were doing to get their first glimpse of the woman who killed Colter. Liz looked around the circular market lined with shops that were run by Nuka World Traders, slaves that had once lived peacefully in the park until the raiders took over. Other travelers shopped their wares and hoped to move on before they, too, found themselves in a collar.

Liz's attention was drawn to a shop to her right, being run by a thin female Trader with short brown hair. One of the Disciples was leaning over the counter, yelling at her. "What do you mean Rad Roach is ten caps?! It has never been that pricey!" He screamed.

The girl leaned away from him, intimidated but held her ground. "I-it has always b-been the same price. If you d-don't like it, go find someplace else t-to eat." She stammered.

"What did you just say to me?!" The man said, shouting behind his mask. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. "You calling me a liar?!"

Liz stood, watching the scene with her arms crossed. "Gage… who's Market is this?"

"Yours, boss." He said with a smirk.

"That's what I thought." Liz replied. She walked towards the merchant stand. The woman saw her coming and immediately tried to back away from the situation, but couldn't with her arm still in the Disciples grip. He, on the other hand, was unaware that the Overboss was right behind him. Before he could look over his shoulder, Liz grabbed the back of his neck and slammed his head into the counter. The man shouted in surprise and cursed, still not sure who was attacking him. His chain of cuss words was cut short when Liz slammed her knife into the counter, just barely missing his lips.

"Hello there…." Liz said in a soothing voice with a smile on her face. Her eyes locked with the merchant, who was shaking. Liz kept the man pinned to the counter. "What seems to be the problem here?"

The merchant swallowed hard before replying. "He… he didn't want t-to pay full price for the food. I swear, b-boss… I didn't raise the prices… I wouldn't do that…"

Liz nodded. "Oh, I bet you didn't. But sometimes, when the boss isn't around to keep idiots like this in line, they think they can get away with anything." She looked down at her captive. "Isn't that right?"

"Boss, She is lying-" The Disciple started to protest but stopped when Liz pushed his neck to the knife still imbedded in the counter, barely touching his throat to the blade's edge.

"This is my market, my friend. So, if you are trying to rip this nice young lady off… you are trying to rip me off. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"No, boss." He replied, through gritted teeth.

"Of course you wouldn't. And why would it be a bad idea if you did?"

"Because you're the Overboss." He said after a moment of silence.

"There's a good boy." She said and pulled the knife out of the counter, leaving a small cut on his neck. She let go of the raider, who stood up quickly and made his way to the exit, embarrassed.

The merchant slave wrung her hands, nervously. "Th-thank you, boss…"

Liz held her hand up. "No need for that. I'm just protecting my interests. Now, let's talk business."

* * *

Gage and Liz stood on the elevator leading to Fizztop Mountain, a box containing their meals in their hands. Liz brought something extra for Sturges, who hadn't eaten since she left to go clear out the parks that day. When they reached the top, Liz stepped off the contraption and sighed with a smile.

"Sturges! We're home!" She called loudly, making her gun tech shake his head. He was hunched over a wooden desk near her sleeping quarters, working on making improvements to the pink gun that Mason had given her.

"I can see that." Sturges muttered, not looking up. His work was interrupted when Gage threw his rifle on top of the gun he was in the middle of fixing. "What the Hell was that for?!" He shouted, looking up at Gage in anger.

Gage snarled back at him. "Just fix it." He said in a low voice, turning his back on him and walking to the table where Liz had sat down to eat.

"I don't fix your stuff. I agreed to fix Liz's and that's it." Sturges protested and rose to his feet.

Gage set his box on the bar and turned to face the gun tech again. "That's Overboss to you, and if I tell you to fix something, you better fuckin' do it." Gage stood in front of Sturges and grabbed the front of his overalls. With a heave, he pushed the man into the chair again, almost knocking the tech and the chair to the ground. "Understand?"

Sturges grumbled under his breath, but grabbed the rifle and started to take it apart.

Gage picked up the box with his meal in it and sat down at Liz's table, where she was already eating. He felt oddly comfortable around Liz. He started to eat, looking out at Nuka Town, feeling almost safe for once.

"Something wrong?" Liz asked, bringing his attention back to her.

"Nothing boss. Just used to eating alone most days. Nice to have company." He said.

"Well, get used to it. In my old gang, we all ate in the same room. It was a good time to plan our next moves and targets, or to poison a rival." She said with a smirk. Gage stopped mid bite, looking at her to see if she was implying something. Liz laughed. "I'm kidding, Gage. God Damn. You don't trust anyone, huh?"

"Nope." He replied and finished his bite. "I got my reasons."

"And what are your reasons?" She asked and waited for a response while she chewed another bite. When he didn't provide one, she continued. "Alright, touchy subject. How about you tell me why you became a raider."

"Because it's the only way to live out here. Learned that early on. My folks were your typical farmers. Tried to scrape a life together on some shitty little settlement. But whenever the raiders came through, they'd roll over and give these punks everything they had and hoped to live through it. When I was 12, I realized that there was no way I could live like that. So, I packed up and left. Never looked back or saw 'em again."

"Don't blame ya. That is no way to live." She replied, taking a sip from a Nuka Cola. "Then what?"

"I did some odd jobs here and there, worked on a caravan or two, but every time the raiders came, it was always the same thing. Hands up, all your shit is ours now. Didn't take long for me to see which side of the gun I wanted to be on. Next time a raider gang rolled through, I joined up." Gage finished.

"Huh. Makes sense I suppose." Liz nodded. "Not the most exciting tale, but it's good that you were able to learn how the world works at a young enough age. You didn't waste any time understanding the true side of this world." The pair fell silent for another minute.

"What about you?" Gage asked. "Why did you become a raider? Pretty clear you are different than your run of the mill, gun toting psycho."

Liz smiled and huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, I guess so. Being a raider is just a means to an end for me, Gage."

"And what end is that?"

"You'll just have to stick around and see." She said, her smile growing.

A few hours later, the sun was low under the horizon and the two raiders sat near the elevator, looking out at Nuka Town under the starry sky. They both had a Nuka Cola Wild in their hands, relaxing and sharing stories of their past experiences. Liz kept quiet about her life before becoming a raider, and her confrontation with the Institute, but otherwise was open with Gage.

"And the fuckin' guy tries to stand in our way, trying to protect his damn caravan with a pipe pistol." Gage said, chuckling.

"Really? What an idiot." Liz replied after a small laugh.

"Yup. The moron ended up in a ditch somewhere. Why he figured he could stand up to us, I still don't have any idea." He finished his story with his feet on the railing around Fizztop, leaning back. He took a swig from the soda and sighed, smiling.

"You know there's alcohol in that bottle, right?" Liz asked. She remembered that Gage wouldn't join her in a drink of Whiskey when she first arrived. "I thought you didn't drink."

"Yeah. But it ain't a lot. And one won't hurt." He replied with a shrug.

"True." She said and thought for another moment. "You are probably the only raider I have ever seen without a vice."

"A what?" Gage asked, looking at her.

"Vice. Like… something bad you turn to for comfort. Like chems, or alcohol, or other shit." She explained.

"Oh. Yeah, well, that shit dulls the senses, messes with your mind. That's the way you get yourself killed. Fuckin' raiders do it to themselves all the time. They see life for how it really is, and they want everything right now. All the caps, all the chems, whatever. No forethought and no planning for the future."

"But you're different." She said.

"So are you." He replied with a nod. "We see the way life is, but know how to make sure that we live through it. And if we can make ourselves comfortable along the way with a nice stack of caps and a place to hang our hats at night, well, that's what it's all about."

Liz chuckled and got more comfortable in her chair. "Right you are, Gage." She said and held her bottle out to him. "Cheers."

He touched the neck of his bottle with hers and they both finished their drinks.

* * *

Not long after, Liz turned to see Gage fast asleep in his chair. She smirked, grabbed the bottle from his hand and let him rest. As she placed the empty bottles on the bar, she saw Sturges hard at work on the gun still, the candles burning brightly to help him see. She walked over to him and leaned her back on the railing around her sleeping area. "How's it looking?" She asked in a low voice.

"Almost done." Sturges replied. "Damn thing had a few busted springs and dust clogging most of the moving parts. Did you make him swim in mud or something?"

Liz chuckled. "Neh. One of the parks is built on sand and red clay. That probably did it. Mind cleaning my gun afterwards?" She asked.

Sturges sighed heavily. "Yeah. I can do that." The two stayed silent for a minute.

"Where are you from?" She asked.

"A settlement in the Commonwealth. Small one. You wouldn't have heard of it."

"Try me. I used to live there before the Institute took over and ruined the place."

Sturges paused, unsure if he should tell her. "Abernathy Farms…" He lied.

"I've heard of it… Near Sanctuary, right? Where that big vault is."

"Yeah… that's the one. Not many people remember that vault." He said, looking over at her.

Liz smiled. "When the Institute was taken over by that new guy, I was curious. Rumor is, he came from that vault."

Sturges let out a humorless laugh. "Yeah. But I think we all would have been better off if Nate had stayed in there." He said and turned back to Gage's gun.

Liz froze, but she tried not to show it. "Nate?"

Sturges nodded. "Yeah. Nate. The guy who is in charge of the Institute. Seemed like a nice guy at first. Boy, was I wrong."

"You know him?" She asked, her chest tightening with excitement and a bit of anxiety.

"Back in the day, sure. I even would have called him a friend, if you asked me five years ago. Not so true anymore." He started to put the gun back together.

Liz stayed quiet for a few minutes, her mind racing with thoughts. This guy might know a way to draw Nate out of the Institute, or maybe even how to get inside the damn place. He could be the key to everything she planned to do, and here he was, fixing her guns. Liz didn't believe in luck or fate, but it was hard to deny that this was no coincidence.

She didn't want to play her hand too hard, neither. She needed to remain focused on what she had to do now. But soon, Sturges was going to need to share some information, whether he wants to give it up or not.

"Boss?" Sturges interrupted her thoughts, making her look up at him. He was holding out Gage's weapon and reaching out with his free hand for hers.

"Oh. Sorry." She said and gave him her combat rifle. She took Gage's gun and smiled. "Thanks for getting it working again."

"Don't mention it." He said and sat down. "So, um… boss… I was wondering… I've fixed your guns up, made improvements to a few of them, there isn't much more I can do for you here. I was thinking I would… I would head out in the morning. Get back to my settlement."

Liz looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You think you are done here?"

"Well, yeah… I mean, I think I repaid you for that rescue you pulled off so I was thinking it would be a good time to go." He replied nervously.

"Sorry, Sturges. That isn't going to happen." Liz said, looking over Gage's weapon.

Sturges dropped his tools, looking down at the desk. "Please, boss… I need to get home."

Liz looked at him. "You got a girl back home?" She asked.

Sturges took a deep breath before answering. "Yeah, boss."

"Then why did you leave her in the first place?"

"I had to. The Institute has been capturing more and more people in the Commonwealth. I don't know what they are planning but I couldn't sit by and do nothing. I left to try to find help… maybe find more Brotherhood of Steel soldiers, or a group like the Minutemen. I came to Nuka World to get some supplies before venturing further away from Boston, but you know what happened with that." He turned to her with pleading eyes. "Every day I am here, I see how stupid I was for leaving her. I need to go back and defend our home. Please, boss… let me go."

Liz smiled sadly at him. "Oh, Sturges. I understand, really I do." She walked behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. "And I'm so sorry to do this. I am. But you aren't leaving here until I say you can." She pointed down at her rifle. "Now, you take good care of my little beauty and fix her up. I'm going to get some sleep." She patted his shoulder and let him go, walking to her bed.

Sturges buried his head in his hands, his eyes closed as he gritted his teeth. He had to find a way out of here. And the sooner he did so, the better.


	8. Chapter 7: Strength and Weakness

**Chapter 7: Strength and Weakness**

* * *

 _ **A/N: Sorry for the delay. I was having a bit of trouble getting this chapter to play out. Here it is. I expect to have another one posted later today or tomorrow. Hope you all enjoy!**_

* * *

 _The giant raider boss walked through the small hut. The light was streaming in thin strips through the holes in the ceiling, barely illuminating the room he was scavenging. He heard a can roll from a garbage pile behind him. He spun around quickly to face his enemy, but no one was there. He grumbled, feeling as if someone was watching him. He turned continue picking through the old crate._

 _Suddenly, someone charged from his left and smashed into him with all of their weight. Though he tried to stay steady on his feet, he stumbled and fell to one knee. Before he could raise a weapon to defend himself, a knife was held against his throat. He grimaced and stopped moving. His eyes slowly followed the length of the arm to the young girl holding it._

 _Her red hair was now cut short, hanging around her ears and over her eyebrows. Her eyes were intense and her face dirty from her time with the raiders, which was now over one year in length. Her features were still soft and youthful, but were starting to change to that of an adult. Her small body had taken on more muscular attributes._

 _Her lips parted as she spoke, a darkness in her eyes. "Well? Aren't you gunna beg for mercy, old man?" Liz asked quietly._

 _The raider looked serious for a moment, before a smile crossed his lips and he let out a hearty laugh. "Alright, alright… ya got me." He said and the knife moved. The raider king stood and messed up the girl's hair. "Ya know, I could'a shot ya dead, Li'l. Don't go sneaking up on me like that."_

 _Liz, also known in the gang as Little Killer, or Li'l, smirked at him. "Nah, I had you good that time." She said as the raider walked back to the crate he was rummaging through. "Did you find anything worth takin', boss?"_

 _"Nothin' worth carryin' out. Looks like those settlers were tellin' the truth. They ain't got nothin' but the clothes on their backs and some crops. Got plenty o' that back at camp." He shrugged. He turned to walk to the door of the hut, Liz close behind him. The smile had fallen from her face. She knew what happened to settlers that didn't have anything for them to take._

 _Once outside, the rest of the raiding party made up of a small group of five men in ragtag armor, surrounded the four settlers. The family of four, a man, woman, and two young boys, were on their knees with their hands behind their heads. The children were sobbing and cuddling close to their mother, as she tried to calm them. The man was quiet, yet defiant. He glared at the raiders as they left his house._

 _"I told you. There isn't anything worth taking in there." The man said to the raider boss._

 _The bear of a man stood in front of the young father and walked to take a knee to be eye level with him. "That's a real shame, pops. I was hopin' we'd find somethin' in there. I really did. Ya seem like a nice family." He said and looked over at the man's wife and kids. "But… if we can't find anythin' worth takin' in the house, we gotta make up for it somehow. And you and your wife and them kids… you're all worth quite a bit'a caps yourselves, so… I guess we are just gunna have to take you all." He said and stood to his full, massive size._

 _"Plan B, boss?" One of the raiders standing behind the man asked._

 _"Plan B." The boss replied and his group of raiders pounced on the family, grabbing for their arms and legs, pinning them to the ground on their stomachs and binding their hands together behind their back. The man fought as hard as he could against the raiders, but they were overwhelmed easily._

 _"Boss… don't you think we could… we could let them go? Just this once? Let the settlers owe us? We can come back in a few days, give 'em time to get some caps together." Liz asked, standing at the Boss's side._

 _The raider looked down at her. "And what, give 'em a chance to run away? You know we don't give second chances, Li'l. Don't tell me ya forgot everythin' that I taught ya."_

 _"No, boss." Liz replied and looked over as the family was hoisted to their feet and marched away from their home into a life of servitude._

 _After a few hours of travel, it was clear that they wouldn't make it back to their camp by nightfall. They found a spot to hold up for the night in a clearing in the center of a dead forest. After collecting wood for a small fire, the raiding party cooked a quick meal, and decided who would keep watch over their new merchandise at different times of the evening. They then settled down with chems, alcohol, or rest, depending on how they chose to relax._

 _The family's hands were all retied in front of them and tethered to one another to make escape more difficult. The raider assigned to the first watch took a hit of jet and leaned against a tree, watching them with his eyes piercing and alert. Other raiders continued to leer at the woman, who sat as close to her husband as she could, fearful of what they were going to do to her._

 _As the boss started to entertain the raiding party with one of his stories, Liz got comfortable leaning against a large boulder on the outskirts of the ring of light cast by the fire. She turned her knife in her hand, letting the light catch the metal as her thoughts started to wander back to her family, what she had lost, and what she had done since then. She saw her family when she looked at their captives. Her father had fought to protect his family, just as the young man did. Her father had died for her, her sister and her mother. It was all too familiar to Liz._

 _Just as the raiders started to fall asleep and get comfortable for the night, shouts drew Liz's attention away from her knife and back to the real world. The captives were escaping into the night, carrying the children in their arms. Their guard had crashed from the Jet he had taken and was asleep at his post._

 _The raiding party all jumped to their feet to give chase before their boss held up his hand to stop them. "Let Li'l get them. One person can maneuver more easily to recapture them." The boss's eyes were locked with Liz's, who jumped to her feet and grabbed her combat rifle._

 _Liz darted into the darkness after the family of four. It didn't take long for her to catch up to the captives. Taking aim through the night, she fired a shot, piercing the man's calf. The man, not too far ahead of her, tripped and fell to the ground, sending his son tumbling in front of him. With their hands still together, his wife was pulled to a stop. She cried for him to get up when Liz approached them, aiming a gun at her. Li'l chambered another round and was about to bark orders when a hand wrapped around her ankle. The man bleeding on the ground looked up at her in desperation._

 _"Please. Don't hurt them." He begged. "Let them go. You don't need them. Take me. I-I'm worth more than they are. You don't have to bring them back. Just… just cut the rope and let them go. I'll do anything."_

 _After a moment of thought, Liz harrumphed, brought out her knife, and walked towards the woman and her two children. Fearing the worst, the man pleaded softly and tried to crawl to Liz to stop her. To his surprise, she cut the rope around the woman's hands, and then did the same for the boys. They stood quietly, unsure if Liz was letting them go or not._

 _"Well? Go on!" She hissed and the family of three ran away into the forest. As she watched, she cringed at the thought of what the boss would say to her when they got back. She walked to the man again and pulled him to his feet. He winced from the wound in his calf, but managed to keep up with her as they made their way back to camp._

 _"Thank you." The man said softly to Li'l. "I know you didn't have to do that-"_

 _"You broke the rope to let your family get away. I didn't do anything but shoot you in the leg to stop you from escaping. Clear?" Liz cut him off, furious at herself for doing something so stupid. The man stayed quiet, but nodded._

 _When the two entered the clearing, Liz threw the man to the dirt in anger._

 _"Well? Where are the other three?" The boss asked, his arms folded in front of him._

 _Liz kicked the man in the side of the ribs and spit on him. "They got away. This piece of crap snapped the rope. I had to shoot him to at least capture one of 'em." She tried to sound as convincing as she could, and to her credit, most of the raiders were buying her story; all except the boss himself._

 _Without another word, he took huge strides to close the distance between himself and Liz. He grabbed her by the throat and dragged her into the darkness outside of the camp. When he was sure they were out of earshot of the other raiders, he threw the girl into a tree. She cried out in pain and fell to her knees, taking in huge gulps of air._

 _"What the fuck did you do?!" he growled at her._

 _"They… were gone before I-" She tried to defend herself, her voice hoarse._

 _"Bullshit!" He hissed. "That's bullshit, Li'l! Do ya think I forgot what ya said back at that piss poor little settlement?! Ya really think that I would believe they just happened to get away?!" He raised his fist to strike her, but stopped. He looked down at her still trying to catch her breath and sighed. He turned from her and roared, punching a tree instead._

 _Liz got to her feet, her hand on the grip of her knife in her pocket just in case. The boss finally turned back to look at her after a few moments of silence. "Ya need ta get yer shit together, Li'l. That shit? It's weakness. Ya still give a shit about others that don't matter. They don't mean NOTHIN' to ya and they wouldn't do the same for ya if the roles was reversed. What did I tell ya about weakness?"_

 _"That it's something to be used to gain the upper hand against your enemy." She said softly, her eyes on the ground._

 _"Yer goddamn right. We use it all the time, Li'l. Hell, we used it today. Threaten what a person cares about, and ya can do anything. And everyone has a weakness, ya just gotta hide yer's." He replied._

 _"You don't." She looked up to him._

 _His look of anger softened ever so slightly and a small smile replaced it. "Yeah, I do Li'l. Everyone does. Can't lie to yourself and think ya don't. But ya gotta hide it, alright? Don't let no one see it. It'll just end in trouble." He walked over to Liz and put his arm around her shoulder. "Now, come on. Let's get back to camp, hm?"_

 _Liz and the boss walked back to the light of the fire, where the last remaining captive was sitting next to the guard who had fallen asleep. He, too, had his hands bound together and a rag over his mouth. He was struggling and shouting at the raiders, who all laughed at him. When they returned, one of the gang turned to them with a smirk._

 _"Hey, Li'l… don't beat yourself up over losin' the woman and kids. We found a replacement that we can sell once we get back home, alright? After all, we wouldn't'a lost 'em if this asshole had stayed awake." The raider said and patted her shoulder before settling back down for the night._

* * *

Liz and Gage rode the elevator down to the ground. Below, a pack member was waiting for them, leaning against a rusted metal pole, one of his gang's brightly colored weapons in his hands. He wore a bright blue jacket over a white shirt, and a pair of worn out jeans dyed a bright pink color. He wore a bird mask with the beak cut off over his face, a dog collar around his neck, and a red bandana covering the rest of his head. His clothes were not as vibrant as the other pack members, but his allegiance was clear. The Disciples that wandered around the bottom of Fizztop Mountain gave him an angry glare as they walked past, but it didn't seem to faze the young man. As Liz approached, the man stood up.

"You're either stupid or brave to be standing around like this." Gage addressed the man first.

He chuckled behind his mask. "A little of both, I'd imagine." He said and walked to meet them. "Overboss Liz. It's great to final meet ya." He said and walked up to her. Gage shifted his gun enough to draw the young man's attention to him. "Easy, Gage. I ain't gunna do anything."

"And who are you?" Liz asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Name's Bloodhound, or Hound for short. Best tracker in the Pack. Mason sent me to tell ya that he appreciates you giving us Kiddie Kingdom. Lots'a room to roam out there, ya know what I mean?" He said.

"Oh? I didn't take Mason as on to be so appreciative. Figured he'd be upset that he only has one park under his control so far."

"Well… he may not have SPECIFICALLY sent me with a message. But I figured, I wanted to meet you and I'm sure he's thankful at least a little bit for your help with everything." He replied.

"You wanted to meet me so much that you risked getting into a fight with the Disciples to wait at my doorstep?" Liz asked.

"Look, Boss… A true pack member follows the Alpha, the strongest person in the gang, right? Well, when I sense that power shifting to someone else, and away from the leader of the Pack, I tend to follow it. And maybe some of us are impressed with how you have been handling things. All I'm trying to say is… if you need a sharp set of eyes, or a hound to track someone down, I'm your guy." Hound said, resting his gun on his shoulder.

Liz looked him over and thought for a moment. "Well, if you are offering your services. My gun tech mentioned something about leaving last night. I have a sneaking suspicion that that he may try to do so while Gage and I are out for the day. Would you mind keeping an eye on him? Just hang out around Fizztop, make sure no one tries to leave."

"And if he runs?" Hound inquired.

"Follow him. See where he goes to. Track him down and do a little scouting for me. Then, report back."

"Alright, Boss. I'll keep an eye out."

Liz patted Hound on the shoulder. "I appreciate your help, Hound. I think this is going to be the start of a very beneficial relationship for us both."

* * *

Once he knew that Liz was gone, Sturges started to act on his plans to escape. He knew that Liz wouldn't keep him around forever, and that she couldn't just let him go. While she and that Gage asshole slept, he had formulated a plan. He finished her gun, and then set to work on making some modifications to the colorful gun the Overboss had received from Mason. He added a silencer, and added a knife attachment to the barrel that could easily be detached and used as a melee weapon.

When she was gone, he packed what little food, water, and Nuka Cola he could find around Fizztop into a bag he made from an old tablecloth he found. He poured a bottle of Nuka Cola Grape on his overalls and shirt to stain his outfit a purple color once it started to dry. Using some of the rest of the cloth, he wrapped his face, head and neck in it to hide his appearance.

With a gun from the pack in hand, his clothes as brightly colored as he could make them, and his face hidden, Sturgis made his way to the set of doors leading down a staircase to the bottom of Fizztop mountain. Using the elevator was out of the question. It was loud and would draw too much attention to him. He slowly twisted a bobby pin and his screwdriver in the lock on the back doors, turning them until he felt the lock release. He crept down the stairs and out the door to Nuka Town.

Once outside, he swiftly made his way through the park, avoiding everyone the best he could. He kept to edge of the walkways, keeping his distance from all of the gang members who wandered around. The Disciples and the Operators who did see him barely gave him a second thought; just another Pack asshole who must have lost his mask. As he passed by the amphitheater, though, other Pack members started to get suspicious.

"Hey! Buddy! Where the hell is your mask?" One Pack gang member asked as Sturges walked past him.

Sturges refused to look his way and kept walking. "I, uh… I lost it when I was out on patrol." He lied.

"Mate, you can't go walkin' around without one. Might get yourself shot. Here." The man in the gorilla mask handed him a plastic elephant head. "At least make yourself look half way decent."

Sturges stopped and took the mask. He slipped it over his head and nodded. "Thanks. Wouldn't want the, uh… boss to see me without one, right?" He said, forgetting Mason's name.

"Got that right!" The gang member laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Be careful with this one, eh?"

Sturges nodded his thanks and continued on his way. Walking past the market and the Traders in their collars, he finally made it to the outskirts of Nuka Town. Without a look back, Sturges bolted out of the big Nuka World archway and headed east back towards the Commonwealth.


	9. Chapter 8: Clearing Nuka World

**Chapter 8: Clearing Nuka World**

* * *

 _ **A/N: Well, like all of my carefully laid plans, life stepped in and made updating this story nearly impossible. I apologize for the long absence. I hope you enjoy this next installment.**_

* * *

"Next up, we have… Safari Adventure." She said, looking at the map as Gage walked next to her through the winding trails that connected all of the parks together. "Any news on that one?"

"The only intel I got is that there are monsters wandering around." He said with a shrug. "Sent a team in early on when we first got here, but… the one that returned kept talkin' about some giant lizard that ripped his gang apart."

"Giant lizard? Sounds like he dipped into the psycho a bit. I've seen a lot of giant crap, but I've never seen a…" Liz stopped mid-sentence when she and her raider companion stood in the archway to the Safari Zone, and came face to face with a lizard the size of a Deathclaw. "I stand corrected…"

Gage pulled out his gun and aimed at the monster. He fired off a few shots at its head, which just made it growl and charge at the two.

Liz threw the map over her shoulder and pointed her rifle at the monster. She shot a grouping of rounds into the monsters neck, making it fall on all fours, blood splattering below it. "It's still moving?!" She shouted as the monster started to crawl towards them to continue its attack.

Gage gritted his teeth and took aim again just as a man with nothing but a loin cloth dropped from a tree and rushed towards the monster. The new comer swung a large 2x4 at the monster's head, finishing the work that the raiders started. The man stood over the body of the lizard, watching the new comers. His body was all muscle, and his long black hair was tied back to keep it out of his face. He had a short beard and dark eyes.

Liz smiled when she saw him. "Well, well… looks like we have a new friend." She said, looking the wild man over from head to toe. She walked through the arch into the park to greet him. Gage followed with a scowl, not liking the way she looked at the half naked, muscular guy.

"Pretty lady and grumpy man not hurt?" The man said with worry in his voice.

Liz chuckled. "No, pretty lady and grumpy man are fine." She said, referring to Gage, who harrumphed in response.

"Good. Cito worried that pretty lady get hurt by monster. Monster hurt family, so Cito no want pretty lady hurt too."

"Well, the monster is gone now, Cito." She said and looked to Gage off to her left. "That was easy. One monster kept all the gangs out of this park?" She asked with a chuckle.

"No! More monsters in Cito's home. Cito kill monster. More monsters come. Cito kill monster again. Monster come again. No stop." Cito responded. "Pretty lady go now. It not safe here."

Liz sighed. "Of course there are more monsters. Well, Cito… Pretty lady can't leave until all of these… lizards are dealt with." With that, she attempted to walked further into the park.

Cito stood in front of her and held his hand out to stop her. "Cito can help. Pretty lady and grumpy man follow Cito to family. Cito give pretty lady shiny thing." He turned for her and Gage to follow him.

Liz looked over at Gage and smirked. Gage was still scowling at Cito. "Come on, grumpy man. Cito has a present for us." She said and led the way following Cito.

The stranger brought the two raiders to the gorilla exhibit. Inside, Cito approached a group of gorilla's, grunting to communicate with them. Liz looked around and saw cages on either side, the bars bent and broken. The rest of the building was cement, a good place to stay protected from radiation. Besides the smell, it seemed like a safe place to live.

"Cito help pretty lady. Here. Shiny thing." The man held out a holotape to Liz, which she took. "Wrinkly man come to Cito. Wrinkly man hurt. Cito try to help. Wrinkly man say wrinkly man made monsters. Cito mad at wrinkly man. Wrinkly man sorry. Wrinkly man tell Cito to go to clo-ning… fa-cil-i-ty. Stop monsters. Cito not know how to find clo-ning fa-cil-i-ty."

"Cloning facility? In a theme park for soda?!" Liz exclaimed, shaking her head. "And here I thought at least ONE of these prewar relics could be taken at face value." She pocketed the holotape. "Cito, we need a terminal… a… shiny box with buttons under it to turn shiny thing on. Do you know where we can find one?"

Cito thought for a minute. "Big triangle house has shiny boxes. Pretty lady can find there."

"Well, let's go find the triangle building." She said to Gage, who looked too happy to be away from Cito, the gorillas, and the smell.

"Cito help pretty lady and grumpy man." The wild man suggested, walking towards them with a smile.

"No, we don't need a monkey man's help. We can handle it ourselves." Gage shot back at Cito.

"Now, now Gage. It's not nice to walk into someone's house and be rude to them. Besides, Cito knows this park better than anyone else. He could be helpful." Liz said. He turned to the local man. "Cito, we would like you to help us. You listen to me now, though. Ok?"

"Cito follow pretty lady." He said and smiled back.

The trio made their way to the big triangle house, which was the Welcome Center to the park. Inside, the building seemed like a nice place in the past, with exhibits behind glass around the room. On a desk in the first room was a terminal that still seemed to be working. Slipping the holotape into the terminal, Liz and the others listened to a ghoul explain that the monsters were a result of combining the DNA from different animals in some replicator. To get down to the cloning facility to turn it off and stop the production of the Gatorclaws, they were going to need his, or a Dr. Hein's passcode. Why the ghoul didn't just include the passcode in the tape baffled Liz, but she decided to push forward.

Liz took the tape from the terminal and walked to the elevator that lead down to the lower levels. Finding it locked, Liz ducked down under the terminal to loosen a panel. Cito watched in amazement as the Overboss worked on the wiring of the terminal. When the elevator doors popped open, Liz stood up and smiled. "There we go. Passcode, my ass."

"Wow… Pretty lady smart too." Cito said and smiled. "Cito like new friend."

Gage rolled his eyes and pushed Cito out of the way as he walked into the elevator car. "Let's get this over with." He grumbled as he passed Liz.

Liz laughed under her breath and walked in, waiting for Cito to join them before she pushed the button. The trio rode down to the bottom. The doors opened to a flooded cloning facility where two Gatorclaws lazily floated in the water. Seeing the newcomers, they roared and attacked.

Cito ran straight at the closest enemy, smashing his board into its head, causing it to be dazed and confused. Gage took shots at the other Gatorclaw, standing just outside of the elevator doors. The monster swerved and weaved from side to side, trying to avoid the bullets. Liz rushed forward into the water to put some distance between herself and the two monsters. Settling herself a good distance away, she took aim at the creature moving dangerously close to the raider, shooting for its knees. The monster collapsed and became almost immobile for a few seconds. Gage continued his attack on the monster's head, ending its life.

Cito, on the other hand, was sitting on top of the first Gatorclaw, using the board to strangle the life out of the beast. With a swift pull to the side, the monster's neck snapped. The man got off of the animal and smiled at his new friends. "Cito killed monster." He said.

"Great. You want a medal, or somethin'?" Gage asked under his breath and walked to Liz.

The three of them found the replicator and, in no time, had it switched off and powered down. With the machine turned off, more Gatorclaws came into the facility through the pipes, bringing with them another tough fight. Once they were all cleared out, the three continued to clear the monsters out of the park. This took quite some time, as the raiders and Cito had to find places to corner the monsters one at a time as much as possible, and proceed into places not ideal for battling just to weed them all out.

The last of the beasts were taken out near a hedge maze that led up to a tree house for one of the park's mascots. Moving through the narrow passages, the group was able to locate the beast and surprise it with a series of attacks from behind, and one from up top, where Liz had positioned herself in the wooden structure high up in the tree.

"Cito happy new friend come and kill monsters." Cito said as Liz stepped off of the elevator that she rode down from the treehouse. "Pretty lady save family and Cito."

Liz smiled and stood close to Cito. "Well, I was happy to help, Cito. It's nice to make new friends. Speaking of which… do you mind if I have some new friends live here?" She asked in a smooth voice. "It would mean a lot to me."

"Cito happy to make new friends. Friends of pretty lady are friends of Cito." He replied, happily.

"I appreciate that, Cito." Liz said, touching his arm lightly.

Gage quickly put himself between Liz and Cito. "Come on, boss. We got another park to clear out." He said, his chest tightening as his anger boiled at the display.

"It's pretty late. Maybe we should just stay here for the night." She suggested to Gage, which Cito nodded to.

"Can't. Too much to do." He said and pulled her by the arm to leave.

"Sorry Cito. Thanks for your help. We'll talk again soon, alright?" She called as she followed the raider out of the maze. "Alright, what was that all about?" She asked, when they were clear of the hedges.

"Nothin'. I just… don't want to waste time, is all." Gage replied, not looking at the Overboss.

"Didn't seem like nothin'. Don't like Cito?" She asked, walking next to him as they made their way back to the Welcome Center to hang the flag.

"He's an idiot. More so than I'm used to dealin' with." He shot back.

Liz looked into his eyes and smirked. "You jealous?" She asked.

"What?! No! What the Hell is there to be jealous of?" He asked, acting appalled at the suggestion.

"Nothing, Gage. My mistake." Liz replied, her smile widening. She walked in front of Gage and started to climb to the roof. Gage stayed behind, having a thing against standing in high places with Liz. The Overboss hoisted the flag high up the pole, claiming the park for the Pack. She walked back down the latter, patted Gage on the arm with a smile and headed towards the exit.

"Last park… I'm almost sad to be done, but it'll be worth it." She said, walking calmly towards the Bottling Plant, their last target.

"Been waiting a long time for this, boss." Gage answered.

"If we don't die in this one… We are going to need to have a long talk about where we go from here." Liz explained, to which Gage nodded in response.

"Don't worry boss. Compared to Gatorclaws, feral ghouls and bloodworms, how dangerous could clearing out a bottling plant be?" He inquired with a small smile to her.

* * *

The pair ran through the knee high irradiated Nuka Cola Qunatum of the Nuka Cola Bottle Plant ride, colorful city scenes and moving animatronics whizzing past them, and the sound of clicking pincers and hissing Mirelurks came from behind. Liz and Gage took shots blindly behind them as they ran to hopefully hit the small group of enemies giving chase.

"How dangerous could it be?... Remind me to…. Shoot you …. If we don't die…." Liz shouted at her companion who huffed out a laugh as they rounded a corner, the voice of the automated voice explaining more about the history of Nuka Cola.

High up on a wall, Liz saw a metal platform used by the employees to monitor the ride before the bombs fell. A door that presumably led deeper into the bottling plant sat on the wall that the platform was attached to. However, the ladder to reach it had broken off. Right next to the platform was a giant damaged fiberglass bottle, it's exterior shell damaged on the side that faced the platform. The frame of the display was a skeleton of that exact shape, providing a somewhat easy way to reach the platform.

Without another word, Liz darted in that direction, Gage close on her heels. Liz, who was faster and lighter in her jacket and armor, grabbed ahold of the frame and climbed up the side. When she was high enough, she turned and leapt the distance from the bottle to the platform and landed safely.

Gage had scurried up the side right behind the Overboss and saw her jump the distance. He groaned a bit, climbed a little higher than Liz had to make up for his additional weight and tried to make the jump. He was unable to land on the platform as Liz had before him, and barely managed to grab the edge of the metal bars that made up the bottom of the platform.

Below him, he heard the Mirelurks shriek and continue to try to spit irradiated Nuka Cola Quantum at the two. He looked up and had a flashback of their time on the Kiddie Kingdom Castle. He shook his head and was about to call out to the Overboss for help, the feeling of betrayal welling up inside of him again.

Before he could, Liz was standing over him, a hand on his forearm. Using the railing as leverage, she used her left foot and her two arms to pull the raider up on the platform and to safety with her. Once they were both fully on the platform, Liz fell onto her back, taking in huge gulps of air to catch her breath. Gage collapsed on his side and did the same, lying next to her. The Overboss was the first to let out a breathy laugh, surprised that they managed to pull that off. Gage joined in with a slight chuckle and looked at her. "See? Piece of cake."

Liz opened her eyes and looked at him with a smile. "Yeah… Radscorpian cake with a side of Deathclaw." With that, she sat up and scooted over to the edge, seeing the Mirelurks dancing about below, trying to get their meal back. Liz took out her rifle and calmly fired shots at the monsters below. Gage looked at the woman who saved him as she took shot after shot at the heads and faces of the overgrown crabs. A small smile crept across his face before he joined her with rounds of bullets from his rifle.

With the Mirelurks dealt with, Liz turned to open the door when blood from Gage's hand caught her eye. "You hurt?" She asked.

Gage looked down, the adrenaline having masked the pain of a huge gash on his hand from grabbing the bar. "I guess. Just a scratch boss. Nothin' to worry about."

Liz gave it a closer look and shook her head. She reached into her pocket and realized that she was out of Stimpacks. Not wanting to waste any of Gage's supplies in the event the pair needed them further along in the plant, she ripped off a piece of her shirt and grabbed his hand gently.

"Really, boss. There ain't no need for this." He protested, but didn't pull his hand back. Her hands were rough, yet smooth and light as she wrapped the damp bandage around his hand and tied the ends, tucking the extra fabric into the folds to hold it in place.

"There. It'll due until we finish clearing out this mess." She said, turning his hand in hers to make sure the bandage would hold. Gage pulled his hand out of hers and walked towards the door.

"Yeah, boss. It'll be fine. Thanks." He said to her. He held his gun in his hands as he motioned for the pair to keep moving. "Shall we?"

Liz nodded and opened the door for them to continue.

* * *

A Mirelurk hunter screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground, glowing blue blood spreading out below it. "That's, what… 20 for me now?" Liz asked, shouldering the rifle as Gage walked out of the double doors from the Power Plant to the exterior walkway. The two had worked their way through the rest of the interior of the plant, taking care of the Mireurks inside, as well as a few Assaultrons. To make sure the plant was safe for one of their gangs, the pair would need to mop up any stragglers outside as well. It was almost dusk and the pair were definitely pushing the amount of time they had until nightfall.

"What, were we supposed to be keepin' score? I stopped countin' at 41." Gage retorted with a smirk.

"Oh yeah? Well then, let's see who can kill more of the rest 'a these crabs. Keep score from now on. And those little baby Mirelurks don't count." She egged him on and rushed down the ramp to the cement foundation of the plant's courtyard which was surrounded by the earie landscape around the park, as well as a lake, if it could be called that. The water was dark and impossible to see through, making anything hiding deeper than a few inches invisible to the eye.

Figuring that would be the place where most of the monsters were still hiding, Liz walked in that direction while Gage started to make his way down the ramp. When he was half way down, his attention was pulled to the small lake as a Mirelurk Queen rose out of the water, muck hanging from her. Seeing Liz that close to the monster made his heart sink to his stomach and he ran towards her as she turned and ran away from it. As she ran, Liz threw a grenade over her shoulder every few steps, creating a line for the Mirelurk queen to crawl over.

When she reached the approaching raider, she grabbed his arm to pull him back from the explosions. As the hulking monstrosity moved over the grenades, eachexploded, causing massive damage to its underside. Gage stopped and turned, aiming his rifle at the monster's eyes and face. If targeting the soft tissue of the face worked for the small Mirelurks, it had to work on the big one too.

Sure enough, the Mirelurk Queen's eyes were hit by the first few rounds, making her pull back while the barrage of both Gage's and Liz's rifles continued. The raiders stood shoulder to shoulder and finally brought the big mother down.

Liz took a few steps towards their trophy and looked over her shoulder at her second in command. "So… that's like, what… 50 points for me? I mean…. I did get in the last shot, after all."

"Bullshit, boss. That was all me, and you know it." Gage responded with a laugh.

"Let's split it. 25 each." She said and gave the Queen one last kick before returning to the ramp to finish what they started.

* * *

With only a few Mirelurks left after the Queen was destroyed, the pair spotted the flag pole on the very top of one of the massive bottle shaped smokestacks. An elevator was conveniently placed near that bottle on the roof of the plant, which the two rode up.

Liz made her way around the circular platform to hang the flag. Gage, on the other hand, stopped when he saw the sun setting over the horizon, bathing all of Nuka World in a red and orange glow. He leaned on the railing, taking in the sight of it while the Overboss took care of business.

They had done it. This new Overboss had lead the charge to clear out all of the parks. The three gangs would move into their new territories, be able to spread out and grow in numbers which they would use against their next targets. But for now, Gage could appreciate the work that he and Liz had put in. That and the view of the park, silently waiting for what was to come her way next.

"I gave the plant to the Operators. Something about the plant, with all of the caps and such… seemed like a good place for them." Liz said as she walked back towards Gage. When she saw him gazing out over the park, she looked worried. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah boss. Just…. Taking it all in. This view is… something else. We really did it." He answered.

Liz walked next to him and leaned on the safety railing with her elbows to see the same view he did. "Yeah. We did. Wasn't easy, but we solidified our dominance over this place. We can turn Nuka Town back into the Overboss's domain, give the gangs their own little slices of paradise." She sighed. "There's still a lot of work to be done."

"My thoughts exactly, but… it's nice to be able to appreciate where we are. You did a fine job, boss. And I had a damn good time doing it." He looked over at her.

"We did. We're partners in this, Gage. Through thick and thin, right? You're the only one I trust, and I'm going to need you from here on out." She explained.

"Right." He said and looked back out at the setting sun. Did he trust her, though? It's not something that he ever thought he could manage to admit again.

Liz noticed that his response was less than convincing. "Right. Trust issues with you. Got it." She huffed, patted his shoulder, and walked behind him to return to the elevator.

"His name was Connor." Gage said in a loud tone, making the Overboss stop and turn to look at him. Gage sighed, but continued. "First gang took me in when I was 16. Decent sized group, fair amount of muscle. Only, they weren't usin' it as best they could. Me being new and young, I didn't know enough to keep my mouth shut; started makin' suggestions about how to improve things. Eventually the boss approaches me. Connor. Back then, he called himself… the Harvester or somethin' like that… stupid ass name and it was never as intimidating as he thought it was." Gage huffed out a laugh and continued.

"Anyway, at first I think he's pissed; thinking I am undermining his authority or somethin'. But he actually listens to me and takes my advice."

"As he should. You haven't steered me wrong yet. Well… you haven't got me killed yet, at least." The Overboss joked.

"Yeah, well… gotta look out for one another, right? So here I am, this teenage punk who's got the ear of what seems like the most powerful guy around. I'm on top of the damn world. Connor's always coming to me, asking me my advice, telling me how much he trusts me. Can't lie – it all went to my head. After about a year of working together, we come up with a plan to make peace with a rival gang. Set up a meeting and work out terms. It all made sense and Connor asked that I be the one to lead the meeting. I was more than happy to do the negotiating with three of our biggest guys to back me up in case no one took me seriously. An hour in, the other gang is startin' to realize that this deal is in their best interest. And then, I hear it. Gunfire. Explosions. Lots of both. I figure something went wrong and Connor's gunna have to bail us out."

"Except it wasn't the other gang, huh?" Liz asked.

"Neh, it didn't take long for me to realize what was goin' on. The fucker set me up, and I fell for it. See, he figured he's pumped me for all the information I was good for. Having me around for much longer, I'd be a threat to his position. So he used us a diversion, something to keep the other gang busy while he and his men ambushed us. He gets their stuff, and I just happen to die in the crossfire. Perfect day for him. I couldn't tell ya how I made it out of that alive. Like people say; it was all a blur."

"Damn. Please tell me you went after Connor and strung 'im up by his entrails?" Liz inquired.

Gage huffed out another laugh. "Nah, I knew that would just get me killed. I wanted to, trust me. But I knew that was just revenge talkin'. So I moved on. Promised myself I was never gonna be that stupid again, was never gonna trust anyone to do anything but look out for themselves. Since that day, I ain't trusted nobody, least not beyond how useful they can be to me.' He dragged his eyes away from the now purple and blue sky and looked at the Overboss.

"You, though. You're different. You're the real deal. I finally found somebody worth fightin' with. Somethin' worth fightin' for. I don't mean to make this weird or nothin'. But this is a real good thing we got goin' here. Just wanted to level with ya." Gage finished as the stars started to come out overhead. "I appreciate ya listenin' to all 'a that."

Liz nudged him with her shoulder. "Course. Makes a lot more sense now, you having such a hard time trusting others. And it's not weird, Gage. You and I make a great team. I intend to keep it that way." She looked up at him and smiled a genuine smile. "Plus, you ain't half bad looking, neither." She said and pushed herself off of the railing.

Gage was a little shocked and looked back at her, confused. "Uh… Thanks, boss."

"Now come on. It's getting dark and I think we need to go celebrate a bit, hm?" She replied and walked back towards the elevator to leave.


	10. Chapter 9: Preparing for the Future

**Chapter 9: Preparing for the Future**

* * *

 ** _A/N: It's been a while since the last chapter, and I apologize for the delay. This one was a monster chapter and kind of helps to set up the rest of the story so I had to make sure it was right. Enjoy!_** ** _Warning: Blood, Gore and Suggestive Themes in this chapter._**

 ** _(It's a story about raiders though, so I think that's to be expected.)_**

* * *

 _"Jesus Christ! What is taking so freakin' long?!" a thin man barked at Liz. He stood over her as she sat at a metal desk in the old factory that her gang used as a base. A terminal sat in front of her and she continued to work calmly on the wiring._

 _"Patience, Clarence. Good things come to those who can wait." She replied, connecting two wires together. She had been at it for an hour and Clarence, the boss's new second in command, had been breathing down her neck the whole time._

 _"That's Scorch to you, bitch…" Clarence responded through gritted teeth. He stood a few inches taller than Liz, and was just as thin. He was a stark contrast to the Raider Boss who ran the gang. He wore simple leather armor with spikes on his shoulders, elbows and knees that made him look ridiculous. He covered the lower portion of his face with a dirty red bandana, his dirty brown hair popping out of the top of his head. He looked as intimidating as a rag doll, but was conniving and clever. It didn't take long for him to weasel his way into the boss's good graces and become his most trusted raider._

 _Clarence and Lil had problems since his gang was 'persuaded' to join hers by the boss himself. They were rivals fighting over territory surrounding the factory. If it wasn't for Lil and her squad, the gangs would still be at war. She was able to weaken their rivals enough to force them to assimilate, or die._

 _"Sorry. Scorch." She said with a humorless laugh. "That's not a whole lot better." She snapped the panel back in place and started to screw it shut. Before Clarence could respond with another cruel comment, the raider boss guffawed loudly and patted Scorch on the shoulder._

 _"Go easy on him, Lil. It'd be better for everyone if you twos got along." He said, still chuckling. He towered over the two, his massive size casting shadow on the seated girl._

 _Lil didn't respond. She turned the terminal around and pressed the red power button. The screen crackled to life as the raider boss gave a cheer._

 _"'Atta girl, Lil. See? I told ya she could do it, Scorch." The raider beamed down at his protégé and patted her back. "Now, let's see what's in this thing."_

 _Lil rose from her seat, allowing Clarence to sit down and start to type on it. Using a password he found with the terminal while on a scavenging run, he was able to access the information. She watched as Scorch flew through the terminal entries and located the one he was looking for. "Ah ha! See? Right there. Apparently, there's an old weapons cache. Prewar. Down in an old, abandoned military base. With those supplies, we can make a push into some of the settlements in the Commonwealth."_

 _Lil looked uneasy. "The Commonwealth? That's a lot of heat to worry about. Nothing goes on there without those damn robots catching wind." Though she had dreams of wiping out the asshole who killed her family, the idea of fighting his synth army scared her, and most other raiders, away from moving in on the Commonwealth._

 _"What the fuck do you know, kid? Trust me. Those settlements are ripe for the taking. All the other raider gangs are too chicken shit to attack 'em. That means more loot for us." Scorch responded, defensively._

 _"I agree. Clarence… I mean, Scorch has told me all about some 'a the settlements on the outskirts of the Commonwealth. We can start there and see how it goes. If it's too much heat, we back off." The boss said, smiling at Liz. "I won't go puttin' our gang inta harm's way. Don't ya worry, Lil."_

 _Liz returned the smile, but she still didn't trust the plan. "So, who should we send to get the weapons?"_

 _"Well, it only makes sense that we send our best. Don't want to take any chances…" Scorch replied, looking over his shoulder at her. "That would be you and your band of misfits."_

 _"I think that's a great idea. Lil, round up your guys and get goin' as soon as you can. The bunker shouldn't be too far, so ya can be there and back before night fall." The boss agreed._

 _"And leave this place undefended? If that military base is abandoned, I doubt we need all of my squad to go. Send some of the green boys. Get their kills up a bit." Lil replied, referring to the new recruits they had gained recently. The rest of her gang had gone out on missions that Clarence had suggested, leaving her squad and a whole lot of Clarence's men to defend the factory. If she were to leave, the boss would be very vulnerable._

 _"We can't risk the new blood with this mission. We need someone with experience. This can make or break our future, Lil… As much as I hate to admit it, your squad is the only ones that can do this." Scorch retorted._

 _"And our boys should be back from their other scavenging missions soon, Lil. We'll be back to full strength before you get back." The boss tried to reassure her._

 _"Boss…. I don't like this." Lil said, boldly._

 _"It'll be alright, Lil…" The boss said and put an arm around her shoulders. He walked with her to the door. "You think that little shit can best me anyway? If he were to try somethin', he'd be dead before he could lay a finger on me." He continued in a low voice once he was out of ear shot of Scorch, who stayed at the desk._

 _Liz sighed but nodded. "Alright….. just make sure that you're still kicking when I get back, alright?" She asked with a smile and turned to leave._

 _"I promise, Lil. Now go get me some guns!" He said with another laugh, closing the door to the factory behind her._

 _Once outside, Lil walked past the slave huts and to her squads' quarters. Some slave traders had come to buy new stock as they made their way towards the Capital Wasteland. She briefly gave a glance to the three men and two women that were being traded for a hefty amount of caps. She had seen this a dozen times in the last year since the boss taught her a lesson about weakness that she still had scars from. One of the women looked up to her with sad, pleading eyes. Liz just shrugged to her and continued on her way._

 _Upon arriving at the small shack that she shared with her squad of five other raiders, she was welcomed by the sound of a wrestling match. She stood by the door to watch as Harry once again challenged Red to a contest of strength. Harry, a muscular man standing six feet tall, had his arms wrapped around Red. His signature metal armor was strewn on the floor to keep the fight even. His sniper rifle was lying across his bed._

 _Red, on the other hand, stood almost seven feet tall and the term "muscular" was an understatement. The goliath rivaled the size of the Boss himself, and sported a similar long, bushy beard. His red hair gave him his nickname, even though he kept his head shaved to a layer of short stubble on his head. His thick leather armor was laying neatly on his bunk and his leather jacket and pants gave him more protection than Harry._

 _With a wave of his arm, Red put Harry on his back, pinning him to the ground as the rest of the squad cheered at the unsurprising victory. Celeste sat in her chair and watched with glee in her bright blue eyes at the scene in the middle of the room as Harry, her lover, was beaten. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, as usual. She chose not to use armor, as it made her movements weighted and more noticeable. She preferred stealth in all of her battles, so it was no wonder that she relied on Harry to keep her safe during engagements when she couldn't sneak behind her enemy. Celeste was like Liz. She was captured as a slave and was forced to fight for her life in the ring. Lil was impressed by her fighting spirit and recruited her for her personal unit._

 _To the right of Celeste stood Bundy, looking displeased as ever. The man never smiled. He was the oldest on the squad, having been a raider for a decade or so. His age and experience was clear by the graying hair and scars on his face. He was part of the Boss's squad before being asked to keep an eye on Lil. He didn't like the assignment at first, but after working with the young girl for a few months, he has come to enjoy the jobs they are given and can see Liz growing into a proper raider. He is the most well-armored of all of Liz's unit, wearing all metal armor that was repurposed from power armor taken from a Brotherhood of Steel soldier that they had sold years earlier._

 _"Alright, alright, Uncle! Jesus, Red… go easy, eh?" Harry said, tapping the large man on the arm to show that he gave up. Red stood up with a dopey smile on his face, helping his friend to his feet._

 _"Good fight, Harry." Red said and patted his shoulder with a heavy hand, almost knocking the raider back to the ground. "Oh…. Sorry."_

 _"All good, big guy." Harry replied with a smile and put his armor back on._

 _"You know, Red's gunna hurt ya one a these days." Celeste said and helped Harry with his armor, rubbing his shoulders as she did so._

 _"Neh, Red's just a big teddy bear." He said and kissed her hand with a charming smile._

 _"Heads up, lugheads. Lil's back." Bundy announced, standing up straight from his leaning position. The squad turned to the door, seeing Liz standing there._

 _"Sorry, Boss." Red said in a deep voice. "Didn't see ya there."_

 _"Glad you are all having fun." She said and walked to her bunk. She opened her chest that she kept her belongings in and pulled out her knife and a few boxes of ammo, which she slipped into her bag._

 _"Ooh…. More ammo can only mean on thing…" Celeste said, excitedly. "We got a job?"_

 _"Yeah. The Boss wants us to go find some prewar weapons cache. Suit up. We gotta leave as soon as possible so we can get back before night fall. I don't like leavin' with just that dumb ass Scorch to protect this place." She replied, closing her chest and locking it again._

 _Bundy walked to his bunk, which was next to Lil's, and grabbed a few medical supplies and his pistol. "Ready when you are." He replied without so much as a smirk._

 _Lil sighed and watched as the rest of the squad finished grabbing their gear. "Let's get a move on then."_

* * *

 _A few hours later, Liz and her squad arrived at the bunker. The military outpost consisted of two building with elevators leading to the deeper levels of the facility. One of the elevators had caved in, leaving only one way up or down. Not ideal, but it'd have to do. The turrets had been powered down for years, leaving nothing between them and their target._

 _"I hate when things are this easy… Means that something is bound to go wrong down there." Harry grumbled, checking the ammo in his rifle._

 _Red smiled. "Don't worry. Nothing we can't handle." He said and looked at Liz for approval of his statement, which she provided with a nod and a smile._

 _"That's right. Let's get down there and see how bad it is. If it's too risky, we pull back and say that we tried." She replied and led her squad into the concrete building where the working elevator was housed. "Celeste, you and I will check it out first. If we send the elevator back up, that means it's safe for you guys to meet us down there." Liz pressed the button to call for the elevator car. Once inside, her and Celeste rode it down to the lower levels._

 _As the doors opened, Liz stood in front of Celeste, her combat rifle at the ready. She scanned the room and, seeing no turrets, Protectrons, or humans of any kind ahead of them, stepped out into the hallway before them. She hit the button once Celeste was out, sending the car up for the three men to join them._

 _With the squad together, the group made their way down the tunnel that wound around the bunker. Most of the doors leading from the tunnels opened to rooms that had long been picked clean. A quick scavenge of each room resulted in nothing but a few stray bullets that had fallen out of boxes. Even the mess hall had little more than old dishes to take back._

 _"What a waste of fuckin' time." Harry said after checking yet another cleared out barracks. "You sure Scorch sent us here? Looks like it's been cleared for ages."_

 _"The cache has got to be deeper." Bundy replied. "Probably in an armory or something."_

 _Lil scanned a map of the facility that was hanging on a wall in the mess hall. She squinted at the faded blueprint before tapping her finger on one of the rooms. "There… Just a bit further down the hall, door on the left next to the commander's office."_

 _Taking point again, she led them further into the bunker until they came to the large blast doors of the armory. The massive doors hung wide open for anyone to access. The team walked into armory, which was the size of small bank vault, and checked the lockers, crates, and ammo containers. Nothing remained of the weapons cache._

 _"Oh, what the fuck?! What a waste of god damn time!" Harry fumed, kicking a box of papers clear across the room._

 _"Shut up, Harry…" Liz said, bringing her combat rifle up to her shoulder._

 _"Why? Not like there's even any security to play with down in this hole!" He shouted._

 _"I said Shut Up!" Liz commanded as the rest of the squad heard what she heard; footsteps coming down the hall at them. They were coming fast._

 _The squad armed themselves and was about to charge out of the armory when a stun grenade flew into the small, confined area, blinding the raiders. Lil tried to see through the light, but was tackled before she was able to get a clear shot. She punched and kicked at her attacker, but was not nearly as strong as the larger man that pinned her down._

 _As the light dissipated in the room, she looked over to see her squad overcome by a group of familiar faces. Raiders from Clarence's gang had Celeste face down on the cold steel floor of the armory. Harry was shouting for them to get off of her, but was busy having his hands tied behind his back. Bundy was pinned against a wall with a pistol under his chin. He grimaced at the enemy before him, but didn't push his luck. Even Red couldn't fight off the four men it took to subdue him._

 _Lil looked up at the man who was kneeling on her stomach. She glared up at the man, who grinned back at her with a twisted smile. "Night night, bitch." He said and smashed his head into her's, knocking her out cold._

* * *

 _When Lil came to, her hands were bound behind her, her arms wrapped around a pole that her back was leaning against. Through the haze in her head, she heard Harry shouting at someone to "Get the fuck away from her."_

 _"Well, well…. Look who is finally coming back around." A man said, walking over to Liz. She raised her head, her eyes unfocused as she felt a boot connect with her cheek. Her head slammed into the metal pole behind her, almost knocking her out again. She shook her head, fighting to remain conscious as she heard a group of people laughing at her._

 _Liz grimaced and looked up at the man in front of her, who knelt down to be eye level with the bound raider. "Hello, beautiful. How you feeling?" He asked her. Lil didn't answer him, just glared at his twisted smile. "I bet you ain't feelin' too good. But at least you're alive. Can't say it's gunna stay that way, though."_

 _"Where's my men?" Liz asked, her voice lighter and weaker then she had wanted it to be._

 _The man grabbed her chin and turned her head to the four people of her squad. Liz noticed that they were all back in the mess hall, the tall ceiling and metal rusting walls were the perfect spot to hold them. Large pillars, like the one Liz was tied to, supported the ceiling, and the tables and booths still stood in their original spots. Bundy was hanging by the wrists a foot off the ground, suspended from a chain connected to the ceiling. Harry was handcuffed to the lesg of one of the tables, a cut above his eye causing a small stream of blood to run down his cheek. Red was lying unconscious on the floor on the other side of Harry, his hands tied behind his back. Celeste was on the floor in front of Harry, being held down by a few of the raiders. Celeste looked up at the enemy with hate in her eyes, but didn't seem harmed in any way._

 _"They are all right here, boss lady. Scorch said that we could play with you a bit. Said that we had free reign to do anything we wanted to you and your little squad here…." He said and made her look at him again. "And then you know what he said? He said that we had to leave you to starve to death. Terrible way to go, but just the thought of you and your little group dying down here slowly… Just puts a smile on my face."_

 _Liz looked straight into his eyes and smiled. "You fuckers think… that this is over?" she chuckled under her breath. "You should have just killed us in that armory. Cause this is not going to end well for you."_

 _The raider before her grabbed a fist full of her hair and pulled her head back, moving closer. "You are in no position to threaten us. No big, bad raider boss is going to save your sorry ass this time. He can't protect you. Hell, if Scorch's plan is on track, the big fat fuck is probably already dead." He said, brushing a hand against her cheek. "Always did have a thing for you, Lizzie. I'm going to enjoy this."_

 _Lil smiled up at him and, fighting against the pain from her hair being pulled, lurched forward and sank her teeth into his nose, biting down hard. The man screamed and pulled back, leaving a chunk of flesh behind. "You fucking whore!" The man screamed, falling backward and pushing himself away from her. "You're going to fucking regret that!"_

 _The painful wail and following threats caused a few of the other raiders to rush to their man's aid, trying to stop the bleeding. The men left holding Celeste were distracted by the display, allowing her to get her legs free. The thin woman smashed her boot in between one raider's forehead. She twisted her wrists free from the other and scrambled to her knees. She threw her weight into her shoulder and collided with man who had helped to pin her down, causing him to fall backwards and slam his head against the metal floor._

 _Lil looked to the side to see Celeste spring to her feet and ran Red. She quickly untied his hands and smacked his face until he woke up. Red sat straight up and looked around to get his bearings._

 _Another raider, pissed that Lil had hurt his friend, walked to her and landed a punch right between her eyes, making her see stars. Red, having seen the hit, roared in anger. "You don't touch Lil!" He howled, stomping towards him. He grabbed the raider by the neck and threw him into the metal wall of the mess hall. The rest of the raiders turned to face the giant menace, but had put their guns on tables off to the side of the room. They had figured that they had their enemies under control. In hand to hand combat, they were no match for Red_

 _As Red started their beatings, Celeste knelt down near Harry and picked the locks on his handcuffs. Once free, they worked together to get Bundy down from the chains. Lil continued to watch the fight in front of her, a smile on her face as Red landed hit after bone crushing hit on the would be executioners. The man with no nose had his legs broken. He tried to crawl from the room into the hallway as he heard his friend's necks snapping under the foot of the colossal raider._

 _When the attackers were no longer a threat, Red turned to Lil and rushed over to her, breaking the ropes around her wrists easily. "Lil… You ok?" He asked, his big worried face staring down at her._

 _"Yeah. Thanks Red." She said, rubbing her wrists as she stood on wobbly feet. She was still lightheaded after the damage they did to her face and head. "Everyone alright?" She asked, mainly worried for Celeste based on what she saw when she came to._

 _"Yeah… Good thing you woke up when you did, boss." Celeste replied. Harry hugged her tight once Bundy was on the ground._

 _"Fuckers deserved more than a quick death, Red." Bundy said with venom in his voice. "Wanted to cut 'em myself."_

 _"Sorry, Bundy." Red said, sadly._

 _"We still got the one alive." Liz replied, walking over to the man who was bleeding from his face. She grabbed his broken leg and dragged him back towards the middle of the mess hall. The man screamed in pain as she did so._

 _"Let go of me, you bitch!" He shouted as Liz pinned him up against the same metal pole she was tied to._

 _"Celeste, would you do the honors?" Liz asked, motioning for the handcuffs with her head. The young girl smirked and nodded. She grabbed the steel cuffs that head held Harry and locked them around the raider's wrists, with his arms around the pole._

 _"You fuckers… you're all gunna die once Scorch finds out about this!" He raved, struggling to get his hands free._

 _"Hey Bundy… you got anymore Stimpacks?" Lil asked, looking over at him._

 _"Got one. Some bandages too. You hurt?" The man said, holding out the syringe for her._

 _"Nope." Lil took it and stuck it into their hostage. "There…. Your legs will be better soon. Well, enough to keep you from dying from that injury, anyway . Nose should stop bleeding too." She said, kneeling down to be eye level with him._

 _"Why would you waste that on me if you're just going to kill me anyway?" Her enemy growled at her._

 _"Because I don't want it to be over quickly. No…. I want you to starve to death. Will probably take a few days, maybe a week if you're lucky. Dehydration will probably get to you first…" Lil said with a wide smile on her face. "I only wish I could be here to see it, but it seems that we are needed back at the base."_

 _She turned to look at her squad and stood up. "Let's get going. We have a back stabbing Clarence to kill." The raiders grabbed their gear and started to make their way to the exit._

 _"No wait! Stop! Just kill me! Don't leave me like this!" The man shouted as his nose finished healing._

 _Lil looked back at him over her shoulder. "Keep screaming. It won't help you, but it might make you feel better." She replied with a smirk before the doors to the mess hall closed behind her._

* * *

 _Lil looked down the scope of Harry's gun. The sun had already set by the time they made it back to the old factory. It appeared that none of the other squads that were sent out to scavenge for supplies had come back. It wasn't hard to figure out what Clarence had done to the rest of Lil's gang. The men patrolling the old factory were all Scorch's men. The Boss was nowhere to be seen. Liz feared the worse._

 _She sat back on the hill overlooking the factory, her team around her. "It doesn't look good."_

 _"How many are there?" Bundy asked._

 _"A lot. Enough that it would be crazy to attack them. By ourselves, we'd be slaughtered." Liz shook her head._

 _"Then let's just get the fuck outta here. No reason to go in there and die." Harry replied, in a hushed tone._

 _"We can't leave without knowing what happened to the boss." Celeste said, looking worried. "Can we?"_

 _Lil thought for a second. "Alright, you four stay here. I'll go see if he is still alive. If he is… I'll see if I can get him out of there. If I'm not back in a half hour, get outta here. Get as far from the Commonwealth as you can. If Scorch finds out what we did, he might come after us. Head to the Capital Wasteland, alright?"_

 _"Lil… please be careful." Red said and hugged her._

 _"Yeah. Alright, big guy. That's enough. I'll be back in a few minutes, ok?" She said, patting his arm and trying to keep an open flow of air under his squeeze._

 _Red let her go, wiping a tear from his eye._

 _"Wish me luck." She said and hopped over the hill, sliding down towards the factory._

 _The concrete structure that she called home for the past two years now looked like a foreign place. The fires that burned throughout the night felt like spotlights, just waiting to catch her. The turrets that kept her safe now seemed like the enemy. The large cement walls now appeared to be a prison that she had to break into in an attempt to rescue one of the few people in this messed up world that she still cared about._

 _Once inside the fence, Liz made her way straight towards the double doors that led into the factory. She glanced to the other side of the slave quarters to see her shack was reduced to ash. They must have set fire to it shortly after her and her squad had left. Her heart dropped to her stomach. If they had set fire to it that quickly after her squad departed, that meant that the boss had been in trouble for hours now._

 _It seemed that most of Scorch's men were drunk or high, as raiders often were. But this time, they seemed to be celebrating. The guards that normally kept watch over the factory were either asleep on the ramps and scaffolding, or were loudly laughing and singing as they took hit after hit of their chems. Clarence must have given them the night to relax after their underhanded victory. It made her sick to think about, but made sneaking through the cement building towards the boss's quarters that much easier._

 _Liz finally made it to the metal doors and slowly pushed her way into the room. It was dark, with only one light illuminating the room. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when they did, the sight made her breath catch in her throat._

 _Sitting in a chair was the raider king. His long hair and beard were soaked with blood and the red fluid pooled around his feet. His giant hands and arms were chained to the chair, the metal cutting into his bare skin. Blood spray and splatter covered the wall behind him. Lil ran to the chair and, using the sleeve of her jacket, wiped the blood from his face to see if he was still alive. "Boss? Hey, you still with me?" She asked in a panic._

 _"Go fuck yourself, Clarence." A weak husky voice escaped from the beard of the raider boss. Lil smiled and tears started to form in her eyes._

 _"Fuck you too, old man." She said. "It's me. It's Lil…" She started to loosen the chains around his wrists._

 _The raider boss huffed out a laugh. "Lil? That fucking little weasel said that you were dead…. Or worse."_

 _"Nah, you know me. I learned how to defend myself from the best." She said softly. As she moved the chains to loosen them, her hands became coated with blood. He was bleeding out. "Shit, boss…. I gotta find you a Stim." She backed away and scrambled to her feet. She started to look through drawers and boxes, she opened his chests and the lockers that lined the room. Everything was gone, picked clean by Clarence and his boys. The idea that Lil used her last Stimpack on the guy in the bunker crept into her mind. As she started to get more desperate, realizing that there were no more medical supplies in the room, she cursed herself for being so stupid as to care more about her revenge than the possibility that she might need the fucking thing in the future._

 _"God damn it… Hang on, boss. I'll go find one. Those bastards have to have another one somewhere." Lil said and was about to leave the room when the Boss coughed and spit up blood._

 _"Don't… risk your life… trying to save mine…" He said with labored breath. "You stupid girl… Haven't I taught you nothin'?"_

 _Lil walked back to him, tears falling down her cheeks. She was almost glad that she was alone in the room. Raiders didn't cry, especially not over a fallen boss. "Guess not, cause I already risked it getting in here."_

 _"Always were stupid." He grunted back. With difficulty, he lifted his head and looked at her, a smile on his face. "Proud of you…"_

 _She sniffled and wiped her eyes on her clean sleeve, trying to hide them from him. "I can't leave you here, boss…. I can't."_

 _"Then don't." He said, then paused to catch his breath. "Put me down."_

 _Lil froze. Was he really asking her to shoot him? Put him down like a sick Brahmin? She had done some terrible things since she lost her family, but how could she kill the raider boss? A man whom she respected, if nothing else. "Boss… You know I can't do that."_

 _"Sure you can…. You're stupid, remember? No matter how hard I tried…. To beat it outta ya… you still give a shit about people… Fuckin' stupid kid that you are." He coughed again. "If you leave me alive… That fuck Clarence… wins… I'd rather go out… by the gun of one of my own… than to die because of what he did … to me."_

 _Tears rushed down Lil's face. He was right. If he died from blood loss because of the torture they put him through, Scorch would win. It was the last thing that Lil could do to get back at the guy who betrayed her, and it would be the last favor she could grant the boss. After a few more seconds of contemplation, she nodded and grabbed her gun. She found the Boss's pillow and carried it back over to his chair._

 _"I'll see ya around, Lil… Make me proud… Get what you want outta life… It's over before ya know it… " The raider boss coughed again, but smiled for her._

 _Liz held the pillow up to his forehead and put the muzzle of her gun to the pillow. It would muffle the sound of the gunshot enough that the other raiders shouldn't be able to hear the sound. With tears streaming down her face, she whispered her last goodbye._

* * *

 _"Alright, it's been a half hour. Let's get the fuck outta here." Harry said to the squad. They were still waiting on the hill for Liz to return._

 _"It's been twenty minutes, Harry. Calm down." Celeste said, watching out for Liz. She wanted to go with Lil. After all, sneaking was her specialty. But she knew that her boss wanted to do this alone._

 _"Twenty, thirty, who the fuck cares! Let's just go!" He growled. "Before they see us."_

 _"They're too high to give a crap." Lil said, standing at the base of the hill on the opposite side of the factory. The squad, relieved that she was ok, slid down the hill to see her._

 _"Where's the boss?" Bundy asked._

 _"Dead." Lil replied. Her eyes were puffy and red, but in the dark, she was sure that her squad couldn't see them._

 _"Those bastards…" Bundy growled, his fists clenched._

 _"Wasn't them…. I killed him." Lil replied, her voice emotionless._

 _"What?! Why?" Celeste almost shouted in surprise._

 _"Cause he was weak. He let our home be overtaken by our rivals. I told him to just kill Scorch and his gang months ago, but instead he lets them join us… and this is what happens. Our gang's all dead. All except us five. There's nothing left for us here." Lil answered._

 _"So you shot him? I find that hard to believe." Harry said, shaking his head._

 _"Want to see the fresh blood on my barrel? Shot him point blank in the forehead." She replied, coldly._

 _"Whatever, he's dead. Let's go." Harry responded and turned to walk away from the factory._

 _The squad set off away from the factory in silence. After about ten minutes or so of walking, Harry finally spoke up. "We should head to the Capital Wasteland, start up our own raider gang."_

 _"Oh? And who would be boss, you?" Celeste asked, with a humorless laugh._

 _"Well, obviously I'd be the leader. It was my idea, and who else could run a full gang?" He replied._

 _"I think Liz would be a better leader." Red said, walking next to Liz._

 _"No offense, Lil… but a raider boss has to be strong. You got brains, but you ain't got strength. So, let's just say that this is my raider gang now." Harry said, looking at everyone._

 _"Like Hell it is." Bundy replied, stopping. "You aren't boss material."_

 _"Oh yeah? And you are? What makes you right for the job, hm?" The men squared off with one another when Liz stepped up._

 _"Harry's right." She said, and everyone fell silent. "A raider boss needs to be strong. Needs to be intimidating." She walked towards Harry, smiling at him._

 _"Right…. And I'm strong and intimidating. I'm the obvious choice." Harry said, glad that Lil agreed. "I mean, I will definitely need your help, Lil… You got a good head on your shoulders."_

 _"That I do. Unlike you." She replied, emotionlessly. Before he could stop her, Liz raised her pistol and put a bullet in his head, dropping him immediately. The group stayed in stunned silence as Liz walked to the corpse and shot three more rounds into its head. When the echo of the bullets fell silent, she looked back at her squad._

 _"Anyone else need a demonstration of strength?" The squad again stayed silent. "Good. That settles it. And no more of this Lil shit. It's Liz, or Boss. I think this is the start of a beautiful new chapter in our lives."_

* * *

Liz and Gage walked back to Nuka Town after clearing out the Bottling Plant. At the entrance way, they were greeted by the head of each gang. Mason crossed his massive arms as the pair walked towards them. "There she is. Can't believe you did it, boss." He said with a breathy laugh.

"The whole park is ours." Mags said with her usual smirk.

Nisha sulked behind her counterparts and said nothing to the Overboss as she walked past the group, motioning for them to follow her.

"We have things to discuss. Come. Let's go to my quarters." Liz said, a confident smile on her face. As the conglomerate reached the elevator, Hound came jogging up to them, his mask covering his face.

"Hey boss. Got that information you asked for." He said, and then noticed Mason glaring at him. "Is this a bad time?"

"Yeah, Hound. It is. We got stuff to talk about and it don't involve you! Get your ass back to the amphitheater." Mason growled at his scout, making the young man take a step back.

"Now, now, Mason. Hound did a little favor for me. He can come up and hear this too. Come on up, Hound. Join us for a drink." She said and stepped onto the elevator, waiting for the other gang leaders and her new scout to get on. She pressed the button and the group rode quietly to the top.

"So…. What's next, boss?" William said once they had all piled off of the elevator and stood at the bar in Fizztop Mountain. Liz grabbed glasses for everyone and poured whiskey into each glass.

"I think we need to talk about where we go from here." The Overboss handed a glass to each of the raiders, including Hound. None drank from their glass until Liz held her glass up. "But first… here's to the successful takeover of Nuka World." She drank the shot, as did the rest of them. Gage hadn't taken a glass, wanting to remain sober and alert. It was the first time in quite a while that all of the gang leaders were in the same room at one time.

Once they all set their glasses back down, Mason spoke up. "What, uh…. What did you have in mind for our next steps, boss?"

Liz sat on a stool in front of the group, smiling casually at them. "Next, we get the power plant up and running. I noticed that not all of the lights and electricity are working in the parks and I want to get that working again. Nisha, I want you and the Operators to work together on getting it fixed."

"What?" Nisha hissed. "You got some nerve asking us to do anything for you. After how you treated the Disciples."

"You will get your fair share, Nisha." Liz replied, remaining calm. "Ya see… we aren't stopping at Nuka World. I want the whole damn Commonwealth." The leaders of the gangs all looked at one another, uneasily.

"You sure that's a good idea, boss? I mean… the Institute has that place pretty well under control." Mason spoke up first.

"I don't know if the payout is worth the risk." Mags tried to reason before the Overboss spoke up.

"Think about it for a second, my friends. The Commonwealth has everything you all want. Mags, William… think about all of those settlements, just waiting to be picked clean. They haven't been raided in years thanks to the Institutes influence. And Mason, you wanted a challenge right? You can prove once and for all who the strongest group in the Commonwealth is. We both know that the Institute can't stand toe to toe with the Pack."

"Fuckin' right." Mason said with a smile that stretched across his face.

"And Nisha… how much fun would it be to cut into those scientists who think they are so safe underground in their little fortress. Perfect play things for you and your gang." Liz asked her.

Nisha turned her head away but couldn't help but smile at the thought of hearing the untouched Institute screaming under their knives.

"And the best part is… there isn't any competition!" The Overboss added. "Other raiders are too chicken shit to attack the Commonwealth, right? So let's show them what a post-apocalyptic world looks like. You guys with me?"

"Hell yeah!" Mason said without hesitation.

"You do make a very persuasive argument, boss." Mags said, looking to William, who nodded. Nisha stayed silent.

"Nisha…. Come on. You will have so much territory to play with in the Commonwealth, one park won't make a difference." Liz said, standing up from her seat. "We can't do this without you."

The leader of the Disciples sighed and nodded. 'Fine. But you better start doing right by us, or you won't like what happens." Her head turned slightly to look at Gage, who glared back at her with a sneer.

"Good, glad that's settled." The boss said. "Now, while the Operators and Disciples are fixing our power issue, the Pack and I will be moving in on the first settlement outpost in the Commonwealth. We can plan our raids from there, get some of the neighboring settlements to supply our gangs with food, water and stuff." Liz looked from gang leader to gang leader. "I also want your gangs out of Nuka Town. Now that you have claim to the other parks, Nuka Town is mine."

"If you want that, boss." William said with a shrug. "The Operators will leave a few men in the town as guards for you."

"So will the Pack." Mason agreed as well. "Can't have our Overboss unprotected."

Gage grimaced, not liking the idea of the wolves still so close to Liz. The Boss, however, shrugged. "Sure, could use the help. For now." She stretched and yawned. "Well, if you don't mind. I think I am going to get some shut eye. Doing all the heavy lifting to clear out the parks really takes it out of ya."

The gang leaders smirked and bid the Overboss farewell before descending down to the ground below. Once they were gone, Liz turned her attention to the young member of the Pack, who had been waiting patiently off to the side for the meeting to be finished.

"Well Hound? What do you got for me?" She asked, taking off her coat and throwing it on a table. The cool air felt great on her bare arms.

"Oh, yeah… Sorry." Hound removed his mask, showing the face of a man who was a few years younger than Liz. He had a handsome face with brown eyes, which seemed dull thanks to a hard life. "Your gun tech made it back to his house at Sanctuary. It's not far from the Nuka Transit station in the Commonwealth. Might be a good place to set up an outpost."

"How many other people live there?" She continued.

"About 6, other than the handyman. Some old lady, a couple in their mid-thirties. I think they have a kid about a year old. Then there's another woman, young girl. She ran right up to your man and pulled him into a kiss as soon as she saw him. Kinda sweet." He said with a chuckle. "Oh, and some guy in a long tan duster. He carried one of those… laser musket things. Maybe old Minuteman, but god knows how he's still alive."

"Good work, Hound. You better head back to see if Mason wants you to do anything. He didn't look too happy that you were helping me." Liz replied and sat at one of the booths.

"Eh, he'll get over it. But I better get going all the same. See you later, boss." He said. He put the mask back on his face and rode the elevator down to the ground. Liz watched him leave and then flopped backwards on the bench of a booth, laying down on the cracked red plastic seats. She took a deep breath and sighed, folding her hands over her eyes.

"So, you gunna tell me the real reason you're goin' after the Commonwealth?" She heard Gage ask as he stood over her.

"To make a shit ton of caps, Gage." She replied, but didn't even try to mask her lie.

"I've been running with you for a while now. I ain't once heard ya mention anything about caps. Hell, I seen you pass by a few while in the park that you didn't even bother to pick up." Gage replied.

"Fame? Because I'm fucking bored? Pick one." She said, curtly.

Gage sat on the bench across the table from her. "I kinda poured my guts out to ya on top o' that bottling plant. Not that I expect ya to do the same, but it wouldn't hurt to fill your partner in on this, would it?"

Liz groaned and sat up, looking at him. She tried to think of a lie, tried to make something up… but she couldn't do that to Gage. She sighed again and rubbed her forehead. "Cause I want to wipe out the Institute." She replied.

She waited for the angry outburst, the claims that she was crazy or the shouts that she was on her own before he stormed out of the room. In response, all she got was a calm question of "Why?" Gage didn't seem upset as he waited patiently for her answer.

Liz looked down at her hands that were folded in front of her. She couldn't look up at Gage. "They killed my family. My dad, my sister… my mom. The Institute killed them because they were trying to kill me. I don't know why they wanted me dead but… I want to see those bastards die and watch as their whole world burns down. I know that sounds crazy, but if it's the last thing I do, I will see that fucking prick who leads that whole group in their underground lair breathe his last breath." She finally looked up into Gage's eyes.

"Alright then." He said calmly, with a shrug. "Ain't gunna be easy, but it'll be a hell of a ride going after those fuckers."

"You…. You're ok with it? You're ok with helping me attack the Institute?" She asked.

"Well, it ain't like I'm overly thrilled at the idea of going up against the Institute, but the Commonwealth was always a target of mine, even when I started to plan the takeover of Nuka World. And... I wasn't liein' when I said that I finally found something worth fightin' for. You are worth fightin' for." He said to her, with the slightest smile on his face.

Liz stared into his eyes for a moment or two in silence. That was the first time anyone had ever said anything like that to her. It made her feel like her crazy scheme wasn't some chemmed up dream that could never happen. It made her feel that she was worth sticking around for. Most importantly, it made her feel like she had someone on her side, someone that trusted her and that she trusted completely.

She couldn't tell if it was the whiskey she had drank, the lack of sleep or food, the fact that it had been awhile since she last intimate with another person, or if Gage was the real deal that made these thoughts manifest in her brain. Before she could stop herself, she reached across the table, grabbed the front bar on his armor and pulled him into a kiss. Their lips locked as she ran her other hand over his scalp.

When she pulled back, he stared for a second in stunned silence. "You… you sure you know what you are doin'? You sure this is what you want?" He asked, quietly.

Liz smirked. "Partners, right?" She said and picked up right where she left off, kissing him deeply as she crawled across the table towards him.

* * *

Liz woke up in the middle of the night. Gage was fast asleep beside her. His arm was draped over her stomach. She slowly got out of bed, dragging a blanket with her to keep out the cold from the night air. The parties had all died down, though raiders still wandered about in Nuka Town below. She stood at the railing, looking out over the park.

She thought back on what got her to this place, the people she killed, the lives she destroyed. Was all of it worth it; to stop the Institute? Something she wasn't sure even still existed? She knew what she had done up to this point was not for the right reasons. She was well aware that everything she did was for herself alone. But now she had the fate of the Commonwealth in her hands. If she continued to lead the raiders into Boston, she would change the wasteland forever.

And what if she did succeed in destroying the Institute? Would she rule over the Commonwealth? She was a raider, not the fucking Minutemen or the Brotherhood of Steel. She could lead men and women to rob, cheat, steal and destroy, but could she lead them to rebuild? To live in a world ruled by raiders?

The thought of her holding power over the Commonwealth also made her think about the other gangs. Her power would always be a threat to the others, even those that appeared loyal to her. She would be leading a pack of jackals that she wasn't even part of with no one truly on her side other than Gage. She would be overthrown in no time at all, and the Commonwealth would be left to the mercy of those gangs around her. Deep down, she knew she had to think of something.

"You always leave your bed in the middle of the night? What, did I snore or somethin'?" Porter asked, walking up behind her. He wore his pants and boots but didn't bother putting his shirt on.

Liz looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. "No. Just… thinking. That's all." She said and looked back out at the town. Gage rubbed her shoulders and planted a kiss on the base of her neck.

"What are ya thinkin' about?" He asked.

"About what comes next, and what we need to do." She said and sighed. "I think I need a gang."

"You got three of 'em." Gage replied with a chuckle.

"I can't trust any of them to do anything except stab me in the back once the Commonwealth is under our control…" She thought out loud. "But if I had my own gang, my own men to fight with me… I would at least have some kind of protection, right?"

"Ya got me, ya know." He said, wrapping an arm around her waist.

She pressed herself back into him and sighed. "I know, Gage. But we are going to need more." Her eyes wandered to the Traders outpost and a smile replaced the look of worry on her face. "And I think I know where to start." She grabbed his hands and turned around to face him, placing another kiss on his lips. "Come on, let's go back to bed. We deserve a little rest."


	11. Chapter 10: House Keeping

**Chapter 10: House Keeping**

* * *

 _ **A/N: Wow. Can't believe it's been so long since I updated. Life has been a whirlwind on my end. I apologize for the unexpected absence. Hope you all like this installment. Next chapter, we are taking these raiders into the Commonwealth. Happy reading and feel free to leave a review.**_

* * *

Liz slipped on her coat and fixed the collar to lay it down flat. Gage was already geared and ready to go. He stood near the elevator, looking down at the almost empty streets of Nuka Town, USA. It had been a two days since Liz announced her plans to target the Commonwealth, and already the gangs had moved out into their respective parks. As promised, a few members of the Pack and Operators stayed back to keep an eye on things, in particular the Traders who would surely strike out against the raiders now that they were no longer hanging around the Market and causing issues. So far, the Traders stayed quiet, which worried Gage.

In the two days since the big announcement, the Operators and Disciples moved into the power plant and started to work on getting it up and running. Squabbles and bickering started early on, but Nisha and William made it a point to keep the workers separated to avoid any open fighting. Getting the power back on was important to the Overboss, and neither of them wanted their gang to be the reason why they couldn't get the job done.

The Pack had been preparing for the inevitable invasion into the Commonwealth; all except for Hound, who had spent the past two days by the Overboss's side as she made preparations herself. If she was going to leave Nuka World, she wanted to be sure that it would still be there when she got back. She had asked Hound to accompany her and Gage, though never gave an explanation as to why the young man was useful to her. However, he was still part of the Pack and was expected to fulfill his duties to his gang, returning to the Safari Zone every night.

Liz slipped her combat rifle into its holster on her back and walked to Gage, planting a kiss on his cheek before walking to the elevator. "Come on, handsome, let's get this show on the road." She said with a smile, which Gage returned as he joined her. They rode the cart down to the ground below, where she normally found Hound waiting for her with a chipper "Good Morning". There wasn't any sign of the scout.

"Hm… that's strange. Hound is never late." Liz stepped off the elevator, and looked down the path that lead to the Safari Zone.

Gage shrugged. "Mason probably had somethin' for him to do today. Can't expect him to work for you all the time."

Liz had a bad feeling welling up inside of her. Something wasn't right. "Gage, can you go check on the Market for me? I'll meet you there. I need to check something out before I talk with the Traders."

"You sure you're gunna be alright?" He asked.

Liz smiled. "I always am, aren't I? I'll meet you there." With that, the raiders parted ways, Gage heading towards the Market, and Liz heading towards the amphitheater, where the Pack once resided.

She pushed the heavy double doors open and for once wasn't greeted with the smells and sounds of the Pack. It was strange to see the cages empty of slaves and animals, as well as the absence of the colorfully decorated human animatronics that normally littered the area. The smell of fresh air was welcomed in place of the stench that followed the Pack everywhere they went. The stage, where Mason had once proudly sat on his throne, was empty now, as were the stands surrounding the open ring that was once used as a gladiator pit. This was the only thing that wasn't empty.

In the cage in the center, Liz saw three members of the Pack, their brightly colored costumes moving about as they kicked, punched and whacked a person in the middle of them. Mason stood at the open door to the cage, watching, a bottle of whiskey in his hand. Liz was able to see Hound as their victim. He struggled to defend himself from the non-stop bludgeoning, though it was difficult as he was hogtied, his wrists tied to his feet behind his back. Liz pulled out her rifle as she walked closer, drawing the attention of Mason. He chuckled upon seeing her and raised his hand to make his boys stop.

"Well, well… If it isn't the Overboss. Didn't think you'd be up so early." Mason said with a smile before pressing the bottle to his lips and taking a drink.

"Funny, I was thinking the same." Liz replied, her gun pointing at the ground, but her finger on the trigger. "What're you doing, Mason?"

"I'm teaching this traitor how wrong he was to fuck with me." Mason said, waving the glass container of alcohol at Hound, who couldn't look up at Liz. The collar around his neck had a leash attached to it, as if he were dragged by it. His clothes had been torn and his arms, legs and torso were all exposed. He had cuts and bruises all over his skin, and his eyes were swollen shut.

"What did he do?" Liz asked, calmly.

Mason walked closer to the young man and spat on him. "He tried to quit the gang, said he was done being part of the Pack. Said he wanted to join one of the other gangs. That don't sit right with me. Not one God Damn bit." He said in a drunken slur. "No one leaves the Pack. We ain't second choice to nobody!"

Liz walked closer, her rifle still at the ready. "Which gang did he want to join?" She said, trying to distract Mason. The Pack leader didn't respond, just looked at her with murder in his eyes. Liz smirked. "Oh. I see."

 _Hound wants to join me._ She thought to herself. _That's why Mason wants to make an example of him, but doesn't want the whole Pack to see it. Doesn't want them to know which gang Hound wants to join because others may want to follow in his footsteps. But if he brings just Hound's body back to their little hideout in the Safari Zone, he can spin whatever tale he wants to about the scout's betrayal._

"I can't let you kill my best scout." Liz finally responded, firmly.

"Yeah, well, I can do whatever I want to _MY_ raider, so you got no say in it." Mason said and pulled out a 10mm pistol. "Get him on his knees."

The three colorful raiders obliged, and picked the battered and bleeding Hound off the ground. They held him steady by his arms.

"You don't want to do this, Mason." Liz said, pulling her rifle up to her shoulder.

"What are ya gunna do, shoot me?!" Mason said and laughed loudly. "You need me. You need the Pack. Don't even try to threaten me." He placed the pistol on Hound's forehead. The young man didn't have the strength to do anything but breathe his last breath. Mason sneered down at his captive, pulled back the hammer and added, "No one … betrays me."

Before he could pull the trigger, Liz snapped the rifle to her eye, lined up her shot and fired. The bullet smashed into the side of the pistol, grazing Mason hand as it did so. Mason shouted in pain and shook his now unarmed hand. He looked over at Liz, who still had her rifle up.

"You fucking bitch! I'll kill you for that!" He shouted and rushed out of the cage at her. He brought his massive fist back to punch her in the face. The punch was slow and easily avoidable thanks to the alcohol that was coursing through the Pack Leader's veins. Liz side-stepped the attack, causing Mason to stumble and almost fall. As he passed her, Liz slammed the butt of her rifle into his back, forcing him the rest of the way to the dirt. He howled with rage and rolled onto his back, only to be face to face with the barrel of Liz's gun. He immediately stopped moving.

Liz kept her eyes locked with Mason's as she addressed the three Pack members still holding Hound. "You three head back to the Safari Zone. I need to have a talk with Mason." She said. The three didn't move until Mason added, "Get the FUCK OUT OF HERE!" The three didn't waste any time moving out of the cage and through the heavy double doors.

"Now, let's talk about this like calm people, alright?" She said, not moving the gun.

"You might as well shoot me. I ain't gunna stand around and let you take over the Pack." He growled at her.

Liz chuckled with a smile. "You think I want that group of misfits? Fuck no." She shook her head. "They're animals, how you've managed to control them is beyond my understanding. And don't get me started on their smell." She lowered the rifle. "No, the Pack is all yours, Mason. I would never try to take them from you. All I wanted was Hound. He's a good scout and will be useful when we start to attack the Commonwealth. Hell, I figured he would stay with the Pack and I'd just use him when I needed to, but I guess that's out of the question now." She held out her hand to help him to his feet.

Mason hesitated for a moment before taking her hand and standing up. "So, what happens now?"

Liz sighed. "Well, I say we forget this whole thing happened. You can't let the Pack know that Hound wanted to leave the gang. I assume those three you brought to do your dirty work are trustworthy enough to keep their mouths shut."

"They are." Mason replied.

"Good. Well, then let's say that I caught Hound stealing from me and-" Liz started to concoct a lie about why the man in binds would no longer be with the Pack before Mason cut her off.

"You bought him from me." Mason said, crossing his arms. "He ain't nothin' but a mutt to us. That sneakin' around shit that he's so good at… it ain't our style. Nobody's goin' to miss him. Hell, the only reason I was wasting my time to kill him like this was 'cause 'a the principle of him tryin' to leave for a different gang."

Liz was shocked by this admission, but she nodded. "Alright then. I offered to give you caps in exchange for his loyalty." She held out her hand.

"And I accepted." Mason replied and shook her hand with his. "He's all your's, Boss."

She smiled and nodded. "Pleasure doing business with you. We good? Can't have the leader of the only gang I trust in this whole damn park at odds with me."

Mason chuckled and smiled wide at her. "Yeah, Boss. We're good. Glad to hear ya think so highly of us."

"You kidding? Why do you think you're going with me for our initial attack on the Commonwealth?" She asked.

"I figured you just couldn't resist my charms." Mason replied and turned to leave. "See ya later, Boss."

Once the Pack leader was on the other side of the double doors, Liz walked to the cage. Hound had since slumped back to the ground now that the raiders weren't holding him up anymore. He tried to move his head to see who was walking towards him. He hadn't been able to hear what Mason and Liz had talked about, and he feared the worse. He barely opened his eyes and saw the Overboss smiling down at him before the world around him went black.

* * *

When he woke, he was on one of the benches of a booth in the Fizztop Grill. The table had been ripped out of the floor and laid on its side a small distance away. He looked to his right and saw the Overboss sitting next to him. "Hey Hound. How ya feeling?"

He didn't return the smile. "Like a gorilla just used me as a play thing." He said with a groan. His head was pounding, his body ached, and he was pretty sure that his arm had been broken and fixed with a Stimpak.

"Well, they did a number on you, that's for sure. You won't have to worry about that again." She said and offered him some water from an old Nuka Cola bottle. He eagerly sucked down the water, which felt like it washed away some of the pain he was feeling. When she moved the bottle, he sighed and laid his head back down.

"They're dead?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"No. They're still alive. But they won't be bothering you again."

Hound cringed and moved his hand up to his eyes. "Thanks for getting' me outta there, Boss."

"You're welcome. You work for me now." She replied.

Hound nodded. "Good. Better than working for those animals." He said and sighed. He knew he was in a better place than before, but he also knew the Overboss was a raider. And raiders were all the same. He absentmindedly ran his hand over his neck, only to find the collar gone.

They stayed in silence for a few minutes before Liz spoke. "I need to do a few things, alright? Gage is staying here if you need anything. I had some food brought up if you're hungry, and he'll get you more water if you need it. Just stay here and relax. You'll be better in no time."

The man looked into the Boss's eyes and said, "Thank You." He noticed that there was a sort of softness to her eyes. Was it compassion? Empathy? He had no idea, but it made a small smile spread across his face.

Liz patted his arm and stood up. She grabbed her rifle and swung it over her shoulder. She walked past Gage, who told her to be careful under his breath. Liz discretely tapped Gage's butt playfully as she proceeded to the elevator.

* * *

Harvey was busying himself with the task of sweeping the path around the market. After word that Colter was killed and a new Overboss had taken his place, he had returned home to see which of his victims had made it through the Gauntlet. He was surprised to hear and see that it was the girl in the black jacket and armor that was now being called Overboss of Nuka World.

She hadn't talked to him or bothered to notice he was around, which he started to think was a good thing. After all, he did send her to this hellhole by trying to lie to her about his family. The new boss hadn't made things any better for the Traders of Nuka World, but things weren't worse either. He could at least take comfort in that.

While Harvey quietly worked, he heard a struggle taking place on the other side of the Market. He dropped his broom and sprinted to the sound of the commotion, only to see a Trader on her back and two raiders standing over her, guns raised.

"You ran into me!" the raider on the right, an Operator by the look of his suit, shouted at the woman in rags before him.

"I-I said I was s-sorry!" She cried out, fear in her eyes as the two leered down at her. "It was an acid-dent!"

"What do you think, Carl? Should we believe her?" The raider to the left asked the victim of this heinous crime.

"I think we should teach her some manners. Savages, the lot of you!" Carl replied and raised his gun before Harvey was able to slip himself between the barrel of the gun and the woman on the ground.

"Stop. Please…. It was an accident, I'm sure. No one needs a lesson here." Harvey exclaimed quickly, his hands up to show he was no threat to them.

"Another fucking Trader…. Get outta the way, dickhead." The raider not called Carl retorted with a sneer.

When Harvey didn't move, the first raider sighed and said, "Eh, come on, Trent. Two Traders aren't worth losin'. The boss will get pissed if we lose any more of our labor force."

The two turned to leave as Harvey helped the woman to her feet. "You gotta be more careful, Chrissy. " Harvey said in a softer tone to her.

"I can't help it… I'm so tired that I almost fell over. They just happened to be walking past me at that moment." She said, standing shakily on her feet.

"I know. I'll finish up here. Go take a short nap, alright?" He replied with a warm, understanding smile.

"Thanks, Harvey." Chrissy hugged him and turned to walk into the Market to find a place to get a few minutes of shut eye.

As Harvey started to resume Chrissy's work of stacking some new shipment outside the Market, two members of the Pack walked up behind him. "Harvey, right?" The one in the elephant mask asked. He turned around and was about to respond before the raider spoke again. "The Overboss wants a word. Come on."

Harvey knew better than to question the raiders, and followed them without hesitation. However, he was extremely anxious, fearing the worst as he walked towards Cappy's Café. The raiders opened the doors to the establishment, which was completely empty other than Lauren Plummer behind the counter and the new Overboss at a table, drinking from a bottle of Nuka Cola. Upon entering the diner style restaurant, he walked tentatively over to the Overboss, who smiled a wide, toothy grin.

"Harvey! Long time, no see. Please, have a seat." Liz said, gesturing to the empty booth bench across from her.

Harvey looked around nervously, wringing his hands before he sat down. "It's nice to see you again boss. You've been um… busy." He replied.

"Well, after making it through that death maze that you sent me to, I just kind of went with the flow. Though, had I known taking over three gangs would be as easy as killing one asshole in Powerarmor, I would have come here ages ago." She chuckled.

"I'm sorry, boss. I was just doing what I had to do-" Harvey tried to explain, figuring that was the reason he was there. He stopped when the Overboss waved her hand.

"Water under the bridge, Harvs. I asked you here for something much more important than killing you. And that is making you my liaison… um… my messenger and advisor to the Traders." She interrupted him and continued. "If you haven't noticed, the gang presence in Nuka Town has gone down drastically. I made the Pack, Operators and Disciples leave Nuka Town and move to the parks I cleared out for them. Do ya know why I did that?"

Harvey thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"I did that because I want to give Nuka Town back to the traders." She said and paused to gauge Harvey's reaction. His eyes went wide in surprise as she continued. "The whole area is yours to do with what you will. I'd like to see the traders expand and build houses from the dilapidated structures that line the streets here, maybe even some amenities like a shower house. The Market will go to you all as well. You will be able to keep most of the profits, though a percentage will, of course, go to me for my generosity. I also expect you Traders to arm yourselves and defend Nuka Town from animals that may wonder in here. That doesn't mean shoot at the other gangs. They're still higher on the food chain than you all are, and you lot will still need to keep the collars on, but I think it's time that the Traders are treated with a little more… civility, don't you?"

Harvey's jaw hung open as he listened to her pitch. It sounded almost too good to be true. Be given some space from the gangs, the ability to live independently, for the most part. Hell, they could even keep the profits from the Market, minus the Overboss's cut. One question was nagging at him. "Why would you want this, boss? I mean, I can't see any real reason for this change other."

Liz sat back in her chair and her smile grew. It made Harvey uncomfortable. "Maybe I'm just a softy that can't stand to see others in such a bad situation." She laughed at her joke and shook her head. "Or maybe I see potential in a strong force here at home. I'll be taking the three gangs into the Commonwealth soon and I want to make sure I have a place to come home to. Knowing that the Traders are safe and looking after the place makes the whole thing seem like a fair trade."

Harvey smiled slightly and nodded. "Thank you, Boss. This …. This is a huge step for us. We will gladly do as you ask."

"That's good to hear." Liz replied and held her hand out to shake his, which he eagerly did. With his hand still grasped in hers, she pulled his arm towards her, bringing him closer to her across the table. Her smile abandoned her face and was replaced by a scowl. "But keep one more thing in mind, Harvey. If I hear or see anything that I don't like, or the Traders try to stab me in the back, I'll bring the three gangs in here to let loose on all of you in whatever manner they see fit. And I'll make sure you have a front row seat of everything. You understand?"

What little color was still in Hervey's face drained completely. He nodded and withdrew his hand when she let go. "We won't let you down, boss." He added before getting to his feet and scurrying out the door.


	12. Chapter 11: Sanctuary

**_Chapter 11: Sanctuary_**

 ** _AN: It has been a few months since I updated. I'm sorry for the delay. Hopefully, there won't be another delay like that again. Hope you enjoy this next chapter!_**

 _Six months passed since Li'l put down the Raider King that took her in and changed her life. She quickly found out that creating a new gang from nearly nothing wasn't easy. Herself, Bundy, Red and Celeste set up shop in an old, abandoned motel off of the interstate that linked the Commonwealth to the Capitol Wasteland. They were well away from Scorch's territory, and there were enough caravans going in between the two places for some easy scores to keep her group fed and chemmed._

 _They were able to gain a few more raiders in that time. A group of three displaced teenagers who couldn't fit in anywhere else joined up, as did two members of a rival raider group that had moved on to other territory recently. Her group of nine raiders would often use the interstate as a toll road, hiding amongst the destroyed cars as two or three of the raiders would stop a caravan as it made it's way through. If the traders refused to pay the toll, or threatened the raiders, the group would spring their trap and destroy the caravan, taking what they could carry back to their hide out and burning the bodies to avoid others seeing it and being tipped off about the trap._

 _During one of these such stops, a caravan consisting of two Brahmin-pulled carts, a family of four traders, and what looked like a mercenary or two weaved their way among the wrecked cars in an attempt to leave the Commonwealth behind. The head of the first cart lead the others through, but stopped when a young girl with short red hair stood in front of them, gun in hand._

 _"Sorry folks. I'm afraid you'll have to pay the toll." Li'l said, holding a hand up in front of her. "What do you have, two carts? That will be 250 caps a piece. Toll is 500 and you can be on your way." She said, with a serious look on her face._

 _The lead merchant hopped off of his cart and walked towards the girl. "It's not nice to be trying to pull this kind of scheme, girl. You can get hurt like that." He said, crossing his arms._

 _"No scheme, sir. It's a toll. You pay the toll, or you don't walk away from here. Simple as that." She replied, cocking her gun._

 _The man smiled sadly. "We don't want to hurt you. We have you outgunned. Isn't that right, McCready?"_

 _Another, younger man took a few steps forward to stand next to the merchant. The man wore the remains of a duster with a sleeve missing, a green cap, and carried a rifle with a scope on it. He had bullets lining his belt and looked quite capable of defending himself and the others. "Look, kid. I don't want to have to kill ya, alright? We are just trying to make it outta the Commonwealth. Stand aside and pick a different target."_

 _Li'l smirked and shook her head. "Sorry. No can do… I'll give you one last chance. Pay the toll and move along, or die."_

 _The merchant sighed heavily. "Alright…. Get rid of her." He said and pulled out a pistol as McCready took aim, not liking the thought of shooting someone he didn't consider a threat. But nothing was going to stop him from getting to Duncan._

 _Before either could pull the trigger, Red roared in anger and shot a blast from his shotgun into the second cart, killing one of the merchant's family instantly. The other raiders that were in hiding stepped out, all had their guns pointed at the caravan._

 _The mercenary and merchant turned their heads to see the rest of the gang. Celeste stepped out from behind one of the cars and placed a gun on McCready's neck. "I'd drop that if I were you, handsome…" She said. "Liz… Can we keep this one? He's cute."_

 _McCready sneered at her and dropped his rifle at his feet, as did the merchant._

 _Li'l chuckled and walked towards the pair of newly acquired hostages. "Maybe. He isn't half bad. You can have him, I'll take his rifle." She joked._

 _"Look, we got off on the wrong foot here." The merchant said, his hands now raised. "We didn't realize how important this toll was. So, here. Let me pay for this and we can get out of your way." He said with a nervous smile._

 _Li'l aimed her combat rifle at the merchant's head and was about to either pull the trigger or add in a witty quip before a familiar zapping sound was heard nearby. Her eyes went wide. She hadn't heard that sound since the day her family was taken from her, and she was brought in as a raider. Before she could turn towards the noise, Brody's hoarse voice rang out._

 _"Synths!" He yelled and the raiders opened fire on the incoming enemies. Li'l took her eyes off of the merchant and saw the bright blue flashes, bringing more mechanical monstrosities their way. She scurried behind a car and ducked down. Flashbacks of that fateful day that she had last come face to face with synths played in her head and brought her to her knees._

 _This wasn't her. Not anymore. She wasn't the same girl as she was when her family was killed. She was a raider boss now. She was stronger than this. Li'l mustered up enough strength to look over the hood of the rusted car she hid behind to see her raiders were not only holding the enemy off, they were pushing them back. They were wiping them out. They were killing all of them._

 _"Target locked." She heard a metallic voice say off to her right. She turned to see a synth without a scrap of clothes over his plastic skin aim at her through the scope of a plasma rifle. She glared and shot three quick rounds from her rifle, two hitting it's head and neck, one missing. The synth crumbled to the ground in a heap of scrap._

 _Li'l, emboldened by her small victory, ran to join her raiders in the fight. Their attacks were accompanied by shots from the caravan, including the now rearmed McCready. The group put the synths down and were checking for any other hostiles in the area when a straggler appeared behind McCready._

 _"Target Acquired. Request evac." It said out loud. It wrapped its metal arms around the mercenary, who struggled to get free of it. Li'l turned and aimed a shot over the man's shoulder to try to take out the synth, but another blue flash took both away from the scene._

 _After a few moments of silence, Li'l saw only the merchant and two of the others in the caravan remained. "Get out of here." Felicity said. "Leave the second cart."_

 _The merchant nodded and, without hesitation, took his cart and ran, the remaining two running after him._

 _Li'l's gang start to pick through the remaining cart as she watched, her eyes drifting off as she lost herself in thought. The raiders were able to kill the synths. They weren't even a threat to her group. Was this the type of force she needed? She had since decided that there was almost no chance she would ever get the revenge she wanted from killing the man in charge of the Institute. One reason was because she couldn't get close to him, the other was that the army of synths he controlled was something she figured she couldn't deal with. But here she was, standing over the metal husks of synths, her raiders still standing. The Railroad was beaten, the Brotherhood of Steel wiped out, and the Minutemen defeated… could raiders really be the ones to put down the Institute once and for all?_

 _"What's on your mind, boss?" Brody asked, walking next to her. "You look like you're off in space somewhere."_

 _Liz smiled at Brody. "I know what we're going to do from now on." She replied and chuckled._

"Are we ready to go?" Liz asked Mason, who was waiting on the platform of the Nuka World transit. Along with him was a group of twenty pack members, locked and loaded and ready to leave for their first attempt on the Commonwealth.

"Yeah, boss. My boys are just itchin' to get to that first settlement." He said with a smile. He turned to see Liz, Gage and Hound walking towards them. "Good to see you back on your feet, Mutt." He said with a nod towards Hound.

Hound smiled at him, keeping his anger in check. "You know what they say. It's hard to keep a good dog down."

Mason chuckled as Liz examined the supplies in the train car. Food, water and a small shipment of chems to get the group settled. She would need to work on acquiring new supplies from surrounding settlements once they took over their first location. "Enough food and water for the group for a week?" Liz asked.

"Yup. And some party favors." Mason added, looking in with her.

"Bullets and frag mines, like I asked?" She replied.

"Enough to blow up a herd of elephants."

"You bring the extra collars too?"

"A whole box of the hottest fashion statements this year."

"Did someone talk to Red Eye about the plan?" She turned her head to Mason.

"Done, Boss." Mags Black added, walking up to the train with two Operators accompanying her. "He can't wait to be heard by the new audience."

"Well done, Black." Liz said, looking back at her with a smile. "Come to see us off?"

"Something like that. You sure you don't want to take the Operators with you on this outing?" She asked, making Mason growl defensively next to the Overboss.

"Thank you, but the Pack will do fine with this. I need you guys here to make sure the Disciples stay on task and in line." Liz responded.

"As you wish, boss. If we need you, we will have Red Eye broadcast a message." Mags said.

"Thank you. I promise, you will be heading into the Commonwealth with me before you know it." With that, the Overboss climbed onto the train, followed by Gage and Hound. The rest of the Pack and Mason filed in and, in a few short moments, the train was moving towards their first stop in their conquest of the Commonwealth.

Sturges woke when a soft kiss was placed on his cheek. "Good morning, sleepy head." A woman's voice spoke in his ear. He opened one eye to see Lucy looking down at him with a smile.

"Miss Abernathy, what are you doin' outta my dreams?" He said with a charming smile. The girl giggled and kissed him on the lips.

"Come on. Preston needs your help fixing that busted turret on the road. You know he can't figure the thing out." She said, sitting on the bed next to him. Sturges slipped an arm around her waist and kissed her hand.

"Alright. I'll get to it right away. But only 'cause you asked." He replied, sitting up. Lucy got to her feet and walked out of the room. Sturges could smell breakfast cooking in their small kitchen as he slipped on his overalls, boots, and tool belt. On his way out of the home he and Lucy shared, he kissed her on the cheek and walked out to see Sanctuary was still standing.

Sanctuary was a cul-de-sac of pre-war homes that somehow stayed standing throughout the centuries. He and the other survivors settled here and made a life for themselves amongst the turmoil brought on by the Brotherhood of Steel, the Minutemen and the Institute. Since the fighting ended, the settlement was as safe a place as any to settle down and live a calm life.

In the distance, Sturges heard the cry of young Luke, Marcy and Jun's baby boy. It made him smile to know that they had a second chance to raise a son after what happened all those years ago in Quincy. It did wonders for the parents as well, causing June to settle down and Marcy to warm up to people faster… well, a little faster.

He walked down the cracked streets to the sounds of clanking, which could only mean Preston had gone beyond tinkering and resorted to the golden rule for any mechanic; hit it until it works.

"Having some issues, Garvey?" Sturges said, walking to the hunched over figure of the once proud leader of the Minutemen.

"Damn thing is on the fritz again. Doesn't do anyone any good being broken like that." He said and stood up, giving the turret a little kick.

Sturges laughed under his breath. "Let me take a look at it, hm? Probably just a loose gear or somethin'." Once Preston moved out of the way, the tinkerer took a knee and started to move parts around.

"How's Lucy today?" Preston asked, watching his friend work.

"Perfect." He replied with a smile. "I really don't know how I got so lucky."

"Well, I haven't seen her happier than when you got back from your little trip." He replied. "She was worried sick about you, ya know?"

"Yeah… I know. But I'm back now. And I'm not leavin' again anytime soon." He continued to twist and pull parts off the turret.

"You never did tell me what you found out there. I mean, we talked about you going to find someone to help us, but when you came back… You didn't even tell me what you found." Garvey pressed Sturges for information.

"I'd… rather not talk about it, if it's all the same to you, boss." He said, not looking at the man. "It's something I really want to forget about."

Preston sighed. "Alright…. If you say so. Maybe someday, you can…" the ex-Minutemen general looked over the horizon and noticed a group of brightly colored people rushing towards their settlement. "What the hell is that?"

Sturges looked back at Preston, and then followed his line of sight. "Shit…." He whispered, all too familiar with who this group was. "Get everyone inside. Now!" He ordered.

"Who are they?" Preston asked.

"There's no time! Please! Get everyone into our safe house. Hopefully the turrets will hold them off." Sturges grabbed his tools as Preston ran to the houses, telling the settlers to fall back into one of the houses in the center of the street. The yellow house had all the windows boarded up and two turrets kept watch from the roof.

Preston ran into the base, the Long's right behind him carrying their baby. Sturges finished loading his tools into his belt and ran into the house. Jun locked the door behind him and moved his wife and son into a corner towards the back of the house to stay safe.

"Who the hell is that, Sturges?" Preston asked.

Before Sturges could answer, he looked around in a panic. "Where's Lucy?"

Preston shook his head. 'I told her to run…. She must have stayed in your house."

Sturges was about to pull the door open when he heard the turrets click to life. They opened fire on the intruders, but within a matter of seconds, two small explosions were heard and they fell silent. Sturges and Preston peeked outside from small holes between the boards over the windows. The one time gun mechanic cringed when he saw the raiders walking down his street.

The Pack members moved through the streets, their guns at the ready. Their masks scanned the quiet homes of Sanctuary. "You sure this is the place, boss?" The husky voice of Mason rang out. "Looks deserted to me."

"If it were deserted, why would there be a scarp turret on the roof?" An all too familiar voice responded. Sturges saw from his vantage point the Overboss of Nuka World. Sturges' eyes turned to panic. This couldn't be happening. Not in his home. He looked towards his house and his heart sank when he saw Lucy peeking out their open front window.

"Check the houses." Liz ordered. "All of them. I doubt they would have had enough time to make it out of here without us noticing."

The Pack started towards Sturges' house and the mechanic ran to open the door to their wooden bunker to stop them. Jun tackled him to the ground and hissed, "My wife and son are in here. Are you out of your mind?"

"Lucy's out there!" He whispered back, in a panic. Before Jun could respond, a sharp scream was heard outside. Sturges ran back towards the window and saw a raider in a lion's mask pull Lucy from the house.

"Looky what I found, boss." He said with a cackle, holding Lucy out to Mason.

"Well well…. Guess you were right, boss. There are still settlers here. And look at how pretty this one is." Mason replied. He walked to Lucy and ran the back of his hand over her cheek. "Can I keep this one, boss?"

Liz walked to the girl, looking her over. "What's your name?" She asked.

Lucy kept her mouth shut, but she was shaking like a leaf. The raider who found her held her in place by her arm so she wouldn't try to run.

Liz grinned. "Come now. It's an easy question…. What's your name?" Again, Lucy stayed quiet. "Alright, then… let's try a different question. Where's the rest of the people in your settlement?"

"It's just me…." Lucy said, rather quickly. "Everyone else ran and left me behind."

"Some family." Mason chuckled.

Liz nodded. "Indeed. But something tells me that you're not telling me the truth. And I hate liars…" She brought out her knife. "Now, I'll ask you one more time…. Where are the others?"

Lucy closed her eyes and stayed silent, her jaw clenched shut.

Liz sighed heavily and handed the knife to Mason. "Well, it's not like we can't make you talk. Mason and his boys are really good at that." She turned to the leader of the Pack. "Take her into that house and see if you can't loosen her tongue, hm?"

"Oh, I'll loosen more than that." Mason said with a laugh as three of the animals cheered and whooped, dragging the girl towards the house they found her in as she kicked and struggled to get away, crying.

"Stop!" Sturges yelled, running out of the boarded up house. Fearing he would try to get too close to the Overboss, Gage and another Pack member grabbed his arms to stop him. "Don't hurt her!"

Mason stopped his raiders from dragging her further and looked at Liz to see what she wanted to do. Liz turned to him and her smile grew wider. "Sturges? Is that you? Wow. Small world!" She said, seemingly shocked to see her gun tech again.

"Please, boss…. Don't hurt her." He pleaded, struggling to free himself from the raiders' grip.

Liz looked back at Lucy and then to Sturges. "Is that the girl you told me about? She's beautiful. I can see why you ran away." She looked back at Lucy. "You are a lucky girl. That one there is one of the good ones. You should hold onto him… ya know, if you don't die first." She said, causing the raiders to laugh.

Liz looked at the house that Sturges had run out from. "Alright…. I know there are more of you in there. Come on out with your hands raised. If you do that, you have my word that you won't be harmed." She said and waited for a few seconds. When nothing happened, she pulled out her combat rifle and held it to Sturges head. "On the other hand… if you don't come out…"

Preston was the first to come out, followed by Jun and Marcy, carrying the baby. They had their hands raised as they walked.

"Well, would you look at that. Is that a bona fide Minutemen?" Liz asked, looking Preston over. Garvey kept his mouth shut; he just glared at her.

"It's the old general of the Minutemen." Hound added, shouldering his gun with a smirk.

Liz whistled, impressed. A few raiders instructed the settlers to kneel with their hands behind their head, which they did. Only Marcy was allowed to keep her arms around her son. Liz walked around Garvey, studying him like a trophy. "Didn't think they made any of you anymore. You let a lot of people down when your Minutemen lost to the Institute."

Preston turned away from her in anger, making Liz stand up and walk back into the middle of the street. Mason and the Pack goons still holding Lucy on one side of the street, Sturges and the other settlers of Sanctuary on the other, and about fifteen other raiders ready for some action. Liz crossed her arms and thought for a second.

"Well, I guess there's only one thing to do in this situation…" She said. Without warning, she pulled out her gun, pointed it at Jun and was about to fire a round into his head, until Hound shouted "Stop!"

Liz looked at Hound with fire in her eyes. "What was that?" She asked. The whole settlement fell silent. Hound looked nervously at her.

"I… I just think he would be worth more to us alive." He said, quietly. Liz walked to him slowly. He didn't back down, but he looked scared shitless. When the Overboss was close, she brought her gun back and swung it, smashing the butt of her gun into Hound's cheek. The young man fell to the ground, grabbing his face.

"Don't ever stop me again. Understand?" She hissed at Hound, who nodded. Liz looked around at the settlers, who silently waited to see what would happen.

"Well, this little town now belongs to us. So…. I guess that means that I don't need any of you." Liz added with a heavy sigh. She looked over at Sturges. "For old times' sake, I'll let you be my gun tech again. As for the rest of these assholes… Have fun." She said to the raiders.

The Pack immediately set upon the settlers. Lucy continued to be dragged towards the house, Preston was picked up off the ground to be taken away for God knows what, and the baby was ripped out of Marcy's hands, to his parents' dismay.

"Stop!" Sturges yelled as he struggled to get free, frustrated tears in his eyes. "Don't do this, Boss. I beg you." Liz turned to him with a smile but didn't stop the ensuing chaos until he blurted out, "I can get you into the Institute!"

Liz waved her hand and stopped all of the raiders from what they were doing. The whole settlement fell quiet as Liz walked towards her gun tech. "Come again?"

"I said… I can get you into the Institute. I saw the way you looked when I mentioned that I knew Nate. I can get you inside. In return… you have to promise me that my friends won't be hurt…" He said to Liz.

The Overboss thought for a second or two. "Alright. Deal." She said and turned to Mason. She tapped her neck and walked away from Sturges. The Pack pulled out slave collars and snapped them around Preston's, Marcy's, Jun's and Lucy's neck, activating them. "Mason, be a lamb and send some of your men with our new Traders back to Nuka World, would you? Bring them to Harvey."

Mason smirked. "You got it, Boss." He said and chose some raiders to lead them back. Sturges was still angry.

"This isn't what I meant!" He yelled at her.

Liz turned back around to him. "Oh, I know it isn't. But they won't be harmed on their way back to Nuka World, or once they're living in Nuka Town. But, by keeping them there, I make sure you live up to your end of the deal." She nodded, and Gage and the other raider released Sturges. He immediately ran to Lucy and held her tight.

"What's happening?" She asked, sobbing.

"You need to go with them, ok?" Sturges explained. She shook her head and he nodded. "Yes, you have to. You will be fine. Preston will keep you safe, ok? Stay close to him."

Lucy cried and kissed him before a raider grabbed her arm and pulled her away. Preston and the Longs were pushed to move along by the armed raiders, and the group headed out towards Nuka World. Sturges watched them leave. Liz stood beside him.

"You told me you lived at Abernathy farms." The Overboss said. Her hands were folded behind her back. "I avoided that farm because I thought you were there."

"Somethin' tells me you're lyin'." He answered, not looking at her.

"Something tells me you don't know how to get into the Institute." Liz responded.

"I don't… not yet, anyways. I got this chip full of Institute information. I was never able to crack it and I gave up once the Minutemen fell. The location of where they are must be on that chip. I have a terminal in my house. I'll work on cracking it. Once you have the information you need, you'll bring her back." He demanded.

"Once I have that information, I'll bring her back and you two will live like royalty." She promised and turned away from him to give directions to the raiders on what to do next.


	13. Chapter 12: Getting a Foothold

**Chapter 12: Getting a Foothold**

* * *

 **A/N: Wow... it's almost been a year since I updated this. I'm so sorry for my long absence. I'm back with plenty of writing in mind. Hope you all like this next chapter. I'm going to aim and writing once a week, with each new chapter coming out Monday. Looking forward to seeing what you all think. :)**

* * *

With the setting sun, the raiders started to settle into the houses for the night. Sturges' house was off limits by decree of Liz herself. She settled into the boarded up house where the settlers had hunkered down to hide in. After eating a meal of Brahmin steaks cut from the Brahmin that the settlers raised, Liz walked outside to check the surroundings. Members of the Pack stood watch at the entry points to the town, while others settled in for the night with food, drink, or chems.

The Overboss found Hound sitting on the banks of the small stream that divided this little hamlet from the rest of the wasteland. He was lazily smoking a cigarette, watching the sun set and the sky grow darker. It was a peaceful enough spot, a good place to think. Without saying anything, Liz sat next to her scout. From the corner of her eye, she saw that Hound's cheek was swollen and bruised.

"How's your face?" She asked with a bit of a sigh. She folded her legs under her and leaned on her elbows.

Hound ran a hand over the bump and shrugged. "I've had worse. You do hit like a girl, Boss." He joked and smiled.

Liz huffed out a small laugh, shaking her head. "Why did you do that? Stand up for that asshole?"

The young man shrugged and leaned back on one of his hands, tapping some of the ash off of his cigarette. "Old habits are hard to kill, I guess." He said, not wanting to go into too much detail about his past if he could avoid it.

"What, you ex minutemen or something? Want to save the Wasteland?" She looked over at him.

"My dad was." He blurted out with a nod. "He was one of the good ones. He did whatever he could to help people. And I was really proud to be his son… that is, until he got himself killed at Quincy. I was, what… 14 years old at the time? It was hard to lose him like that. And my mom… she turned to chems. After he died, she moved us to Goodneighbor to live with some chem peddler. It was pretty bad there… the fucker tried to sell me to more than a few slavers for extra caps. Two years later, ,my mom overdosed."

"Must have been hard." Liz replied, waiting for him to continue.

"No harder than anyone else has it out here." Hound didn't know if he should continue or not. He wasn't sure how much he wanted the boss to know about his past.

"So, how did you become a raider then? It's not easy to jump from growing up with a hero and becoming the thing your father probably hated most." She pointed out.

"Yeah… I don't think my dad would be happy with me. But, we all got to do what we need to do to survive, right?" He replied.

Liz could sense him shutting down the conversation and decided not to press him any further. "Yeah. But only the strong don't let this fucked up world break them down." She said. She stood up and dusted herself off. She turned to leave him to his thoughts, taking a few steps back towards the center of the settlement. She stopped and turned back to look at Hound. "Hey."

"Yeah boss?"

"Don't break down. Caring about others… it's not a bad thing. It makes us human, alright? Just… don't go disagreeing with me in front of the others next time." She said in a quieter tone to make sure others didn't hear her.

Hound smiled at her and nodded. "Understood. Thanks boss."

Liz nodded and walked back towards her temporary home. She passed through the door and closed it behind her. Gage was sitting in a chair in front of a table. His arms were crossed, and he was leaning back a bit. His head lulled in front of him. He had fallen asleep waiting for her to get back. The sun had set and he must have been tired from the excitement during the day, as well as the work they did to move a bed into the back bedroom of the fortified house.

She walked to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. He smiled and looked at her. "Well… isn't that about the best way to wake up?" He said softly to her. He looked around her to make sure the door was closed. Though he was sure some of the gangs had figured out that they were more than just like minded raiders, he would rather not give anyone any reason to target one to get to the other.

Liz chuckled and grabbed the front of his armor pulling him to his feet. "I can think of a few ways that are better." She said with a sly smile.

"Oh? Let's see if we have the same thing in mind." Gage replied and stood up, following her to the back bedroom.

* * *

The next few days were filled with raiding nearby settlements. The Abernathy farm agreed to supply the new raider settlement with food and water when Mason showed up with four of the biggest pack members he brought. Mr. Abernathy was terrified for his daughter, who lived in Sanctuary with Sturges, and agreed to give them anything they wanted as long as she was kept safe; something which Mason ardently promised.

Tenpines Bluff gave in quickly, thanks to the slick tongue of Hound who easily persuaded the inhabitants that it was better for their health if they gave up some of their food to the incoming raiders. The snobs in Covenant, who had seemed the most sheltered from the Institutes influence on the Commonwealth, agreed to give caps and chems to them in return for the raiders leaving them be to continue their work. Liz and Gage personally dealt with them. The whole place made her second in command very uneasy and he mentioned more than once how happy he was when they had left.

With the supplies flowing into Sanctuary, Liz started to plan their next moves. Gathering all the maps of the Commonwealth she could find, she made plans to set up their next hub settlement, a sizable farm run by ghouls, called the Slog. She remembered visiting that place with her father a few times to trade. She did always have a soft spot for ghouls.

While she, Gage and Hound ate breakfast and poured over the maps they had gathered one morning, Mason charged into the house. Gage jumped to his feet, defensively, as let the leader of the Pack approached the Overboss.

Mason looked a bit ruffled. "You gotta hear this, Boss. Red Eye keeps repeating this message in between every damn song. I'd say it's less annoying then his music, but… somethin' ain't right." He turned on the radio on the kitchen counter and stepped back.

"-oss. Something's going on at the power plant. I don't have any idea what, but… something ain't right. It's quiet and there doesn't seem like a lot of people are over there. Might want to check it out. Anyway… here's a song about some girl a friend of mine told me abo-" Red Eye's voice was cut short when Mason turned off the radio again.

Liz looked pissed. "We don't got time for this. We are already behind schedule. I swear to God, it's like babysitting children with you assholes." She said and threw her plate on the table in a huff. "So what, I'm supposed to drop everything to go see what might or might NOT be happening at the power station?"

The three men stayed quiet for a moment or two before Gage finally spoke up. "I'll go check it out, Boss. Shouldn't take me more than a day. I can meet you at the Slog." He walked down the hallway to their room to grab his armor and gear.

"Not alone, Gage." Liz called after him, still angry that the gangs she left back in Nuka World were so incompetent that they couldn't fix one dame power plant.

Gage returned with his gear bag over his shoulder. "You need all the help you can get here. I won't do anythin' to get myself in trouble."

Liz sighed. "Fine…. Just… Fine." She seemed unable to find the words she wanted to say. She wanted to tell him to stay safe, to not take chances, to be careful… and to make sure he came back to her in one piece. With Mason and Hound there, such displays of concern and affection could be a red flag that there was something going on between the two of them.

Gage picked up on the struggle she was having and smiled ever so slightly at her to show he understood. He nodded to her and walked out the door of her shack in Sanctuary.

* * *

The Slog was a small farm run by ghouls. The crafty mutants had converted an old public swimming pool into a farm, where they grew vegetable and tarberries, which were their specialty. The small group of settlers were unsure what a Commonwealth under the Institutes influences would look like, but they figured it couldn't be much worse then the bigotry they faced from any other smoothskin.

To their surprise, their lives improved because of the Institute. The synth army had eliminated most of the raiders in the area. Any that weren't wiped out fled like dogs. That left the roads much easier to maneuver. Trade flourished between the Slog and nearby settlements. The Synths also seemed to ignore their compound, for the most part. As long as you stayed out of the Synths' way, did as you were told, and didn't mind if a smoothskin or two went missing every now and then, life wasn't too bad in the Commonwealth.

However, the recent presence of this new Raider Radio was giving Wiseman, the leader of the settlement, reason to suspect something bad had made it's way to Boston. At first, the ghouls thought the new radio station was a joke, some kids having a laugh, or some wannabe raider trying to get the Institutes attention. After three consecutive days of nothing but the horrible songs this Red Eye guy seemed to make up on the spot, and the gushing praise he gave to this "Overboss" of his, the group started to think there was more to this station than some joke. Still, Wiseman admitted to his followers that if there were raiders in the Commonwealth, the Institute would surely put them down.

As the sun hung high in the sky, on the same day that Gage had left to check in on the power plant back in Nuka World, one of the female ghouls stood from her crouched position picking tatos to stretch her back. She looked out towards the road and saw what looked like a large group of heavily armed clowns heading towards them at a leisurely pace. She saw their guns and figured the worse. She turned to warn Wiseman about it. He instructed everyone to get into the shower building near the pool, which was the best place to set up some sort of defense against the intruders.

The raiders, seeing their targets high tail it inside, rushed towards the concrete building. They covered both doors, making quite a lot of noise as a way to intimidate the ghouls cowering inside. The inhabitants of the slog didn't have a great supply of weapons; just a few pipe pistols to help deal with any critters or animals that wondered too close to their perimeter. Wiseman and a few others clung to these weapons, hoping they would do something against the intruders.

The gaggle of ruffians calmed down as the ghouls heard a light voice instruct the raiders to "gas them out like roaches." A few seconds later, gas canisters rolled into the shower rooms, filling the whole building with gas. The ghouls sputtered and tried to breath, but since there was poor ventilation in the room, the gas hung thick in the air. Worried that they would suffocate, the ghouls started to run towards the doors, despite the Wiseman telling them to stay put.

As soon as the ghouls reached the doors, the raiders grabbed them. Screams and shouts for mercy could be heard outside as the steadfast ghouls who didn't run continued desperately to try to see through the cloud of smoke. The raiders didn't bother to wait for them to come out. A group of five rushed in and easily overpowered the weakened ghouls. They were dragged out by this new enemy and forced to kneel kneel in a line on the side of the pool. Their backs were to their makeshift tarberry bog, some of their feet hanging off the edge. Wiseman looked back at the pool. He had seen this before in a holofilm. A mobster lined up cops and gunned them down like this, their bodies falling into the pool behind them. He closed his eyes and shuttered at the thought.

His attention was brought back to the raiders that were all around their farm. The leaders, or who Wiseman thought werr the leaders, stood before him. A large man with a face resembling a baboon, and a thin lean wman with a rifle in his hands looked down at him. "You Wiseman?" The baboon asked.

"I am." Wiseman replied, simply.

"Boss! We found him!" He called out. The ghouls looked around for someone more ferocious looking than this man. They were surprised when the Boss turned out to be a thin woman in a long black coat, with a combat rifle on her back.

Liz stepped forward and knelt down on one knee in front of Wiseman. She looked into his eyes, curious if he remembered her. "Hi there."

"It's been a long time." He replied to her.

"You remember me?" Liz asked.

"I remember your father…. He was a good man. So proud of his little girl." Wiseman replied. He chuckled a little bitterly. "If only he could see her now."

Liz glared hotly for a split second in response to his words, before smiling at the ghoul. She stood up and looked around the Slog. "It's just as I remembered it. Good to see it's still up and running." She said, walking in front of the ghouls. Their emotions ran from bitter hate to absolute terror. She looked down at one man who spat at her boot as she walked.

"That wasn't very neighborly…" She said and pulled out a pistol, aiming it at his head when she heard it. The sight and sound she could never forget. The electric zap, the flash of blue light… and the clanking of metal feet on the earth. Synths flooded the repurposed pool and swarmed towards the raiders. "Take them out!" Liz shouted, turning her gun to the synths.

Wiseman smiled, thankful for the Institute at that moment. He instructed his ghouls to jump into the pools for cover, before doing so himself. They all huddled in the corner as the Synths and the Raiders battled above them. He calmed everyone down quietly despite the bullets and lasers flew over their heads.

One synth was eventually knocked into the pool. After a moment to get it's bearings, it turned towards the group of defenseless ghouls. Wiseman gave it a small smile and a nod in thanks for their timely arrival, before his face dropped in horror. The Synth pointed it's gun at the group. "Eliminate all targets. No survivors." It repeated its mission. Wiseman climbed to the front of the group to shield his people, sputtering that they were not raiders. The Synth aimed its gun at him before a bullet collided into its metal skull, dropping it into the pool. Wiseman looked up to the pool's edge and saw Liz, aiming down the sights of her gun at the Synth. She met Wiseman's eyes for a moment before helping her raiders clear out the rest of the Synths.

Once the guns had quieted down, she gathered the raiders who were left. Only two had fallen in the fight. It was enough for her to keep going, though once Gage was back, she would need to send for more reinforcements. As she checked to make sure everyone still standing was in one piece, Wiseman emerged from the pool, walking up the shallow end and over the edge.

Liz turned to him with a cocky smirk. "The Institute has gotten lazy without anyone pushin' their buttons, eh?" she asked and laughed a little.

"What do you want from us?" Wiseman asked, his face defeated. He was sure that the Institute had seen value in their settlement, at least enough to send Synths to protect them. But instead, the Boogeyman of the Commonwealth saw them as expendable, as long as the raider threat was dealt with.

Liz looked around at the Slog. "We want your land, my ugly friend. In return… you and your people get to walk away freely."

"You are not getting our farm. We will send you supplies." He replied, standing his ground. They worked too hard to let raiders take what they had built.

Liz thought for a moment. To be fair, there was no way that her raiders were going to farm the land. And she was more than happy to let someone else work it, but this spot would be a strategic place to launch attacks from, and she had already promised the Operators the next key settlement. She nodded. "Alright, here's the deal. You can stay on your land, and I will leave one of my gangs here to act as your protection. You do as they say, keep farming your land, and you will keep your lives. If not, well… That tarberry bog will get a lot redder, if you know what I mean."

The Wiseman cringed. Leaving seemed out of the question now. It was either farm for them… be a slave to the raiders… or die. He sighed heavily and nodded. "Alright. But my people aren't to be harmed. No beatings, no harassment."

Liz grinned. "Deal." She said and walked to shake his hand. Wiseman begrudgingly did so, though he had almost no faith in an agreement from a raider.

* * *

The raiders finished setting up sleeping arrangements in the pool showers, allowing the ghouls to keep their beds, though some had to sleep two to a bed now. A few of the pack started to assemble a radio tower to broadcast Raider Radio to more of the Commonwealth, as another was getting a lesson on the HAM radio from a rather technically inclined ghoul who claimed to be a toy designer "back in his day". Liz was inspecting the tower when Hound called to her.

"Boss! You... You may want to come listen to this!" Hound looked at her, his face pale and eyes wide. He was sitting on a couch inside the concrete building, a radio on the table in front of him. Liz walked to him just as the message ended and the next was starting again.

"Boss, this is Red Eye. We... got a situation here. Seems like the Disciples have gone and taken the power plant. The Operators have kept them stuck there for now, but uh... they got Gage, I think during the scuffle. So, get back here and clear this shit up so I can go back to running Raider Radio. Speaking of, here's another song-"


	14. Chapter 13: The Power Plant

Preston grabbed the rope alongside Jun, and pulled hard to lift the large wooden wall to the frame to be secured in place. He gritted his teeth, the shock collar blinking around his neck, as another man stood behind him. The man instructed him to pull harder. Finally, the wall stood upright as another Trader quickly secured it to the frame, patching up the large missing section of wall in a building in Nuka Town USA. Preston sucked in a few breaths, laughing a little. "That should do it."

The man giving orders to Preston smiled and nodded. Harvey had his long hair pulled back into a pony tail, and his usual grime-covered face was clean and shaven. Since given the position to lead the Traders while the Boss was gone, he had done his best to get Nuka Town as habitable as possible. "Thanks for the help, Preston. This should be a pretty nice place for you and your people to stay in, if you want it."

Preston looked around and nodded. "Yeah. I think this will do fine. Until we can figure a way out of this mess." He looked around and took off his duster. His hat was stolen by one of the Pack already, but he kept the rest of his Minuteman Uniform on as much as possible.

Harvey cringed at the mention of leaving Nuka Town, but let it slide as he continued. "Come on. Let's grab a bite to eat. It's getting late." He said and lead the way out of the building towards the Trading Center of Nuka World. He took in a deep breath and smiled a little at how much things had changed.

With the Boss taking the gangs into the Commonwealth, as well as directing all Pack, Disciple, and Operator gang members to stay out of Nuka Town, the place was starting to feel like home again. Sure, they still had their shock collars on, making them prisoners within the confines of the park, but at least they had a chance to carve out a life for themselves now. Each had a home to call their own in the many buildings that lined the streets of Nuka Town, USA, and they worked together to clean their little slice of this Nuka Cola filled paradise. The trading center had become the place where they all ate breakfast and dinner together, and were able to trade as they always did with the people who visited, keeping most of the profits for themselves.

Despite all the improvements going on under Harvey's watch, he was sad to see people coming to them with collars around their necks from the Commonwealth. The boss was capturing settlements and sending any trouble makers back to Nuka Town in chains. It made keeping the peace difficult for him. Most of the new comers saw their situation as dire, and one that they needed to escape from. Harvey, on the other hand, was determined to keep his promise to the Overboss. Even though she was miles away in the Commonwealth, he didn't want her to come back to a revolt. He knew that would only end in one way.

Pushing aside the thoughts of the what-ifs, Harvey put his attention to Preson and Jun. "How is Marcy and the baby?" He asked.

Jun nodded. "Alright. She's been helping Mackenzie at the clinic. It's a good place for the baby to rest, and Marcy is actually enjoying it." He chuckled a little, knowing how his wife is.

Harvey smiled in response. "That's great to hear. Any help we can get at the clinic is a godsend." He held the door to let Preston and Jun into the trading center before he heard one of the Trader guards calling for him.

"Harvey! Harvey!" One of the younger traders, about 20 or so, ran up to him, rifle in hand. "There's something going on up at the Power Plant!"

Harvey motioned for the two men to enter, then walked to the guard. "What do you mean?"

The guard stopped in front of him, out of breath. "I… I don't know. There was shooting and shouting… and then I saw a bunch of the Operators leave. They headed back to the bottling plant. I… I don't know what's going on."

Harvey looked concerned. "Go tell Red Eye what's going on. He'll radio the Boss." He said. The guard nodded and ran off to the radio station where Red Eye was broadcasting. Harvey ran a hand through his hair and instructed all of the guards to go back on duty, stationing a majority of them at the entrance to Nuka Town closest to the Power Plant. If the Disciples took Nuka Town, he shuttered to think what they would do to the Traders.

* * *

Gage woke with a start, lurching forward a bit. His head was pounding from being hit, or something. He couldn't quite remember what happened. Trying to reach his hands up to his head, he quickly learned that they were bound behind his back. _Just perfect…_ he thought to himself. As his vision cleared, he saw that he was on the roof of the Nuka World Power Plant. A cool breeze blew around him as he tried to determine where on the roof he actually was.

He saw that he was in the center of the roof, on a walkway that sat on top of a few pipes. His hands were tied to a metal safety railing that ran around the walkway. He could see Nuka World from where he was seated, the thought crossing his mind that at least he would be able to see it one last time. He had taken it over. He had planned it, masterminded the whole thing. Got the Overboss to clear it out. It was his biggest success yet. And he would be glad if it was the last thing he saw.

His thoughts were torn from the view when he heard footsteps on the metal walkway. He looked over his shoulder and saw the outline of the hulking form of Savoy walking towards him, with Dixie and Nisha next to him.

"Well well… looks like someone is finally awake." Dixie's southern bell accent rang out in a cheery way. "Good thing our boys didn't hit ya too hard, suga."

The trio walked to him and stood in front of him. Gage stared up at them, a scowl on his face. He didn't say anything. Nisha bent down and got on one knee to be at his level before she spoke, a small grin on her lips.

"Gage. How nice of you to drop in. You know, when that new Overboss took over, I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this one wouldn't be like Colter. And sure, she did clear out the parks, but you see… you promised me that my family would get their fair share. And I promised you that this was your last chance to get this place running right… if you didn't, I'd make you pay. Remember that deal?" Nisha asked, calmly. Gage didn't reply. He twisted his wrists to try to get out of this somehow, but the ropes wouldn't budge.

"He remembers. I can see it in his eyes." Dixie added with a light giggle. She was clearly enjoying this.

Savoy crossed his arms. "We're gonna collect on that deal, Gage. You fucked with the wrong gang. You and that little bitch you got to run things." He growled before lifting his boot and connecting it with Gage's face. Gage grunted in pain, his head still reeling from waking up in his current predicament.

Gage focused again on Nisha, a small bruise forming on his cheek from the kick. He smiled at her and huffed out a humorless laugh. "You fuckin' psychos… You think takin' over the Power Plant is gonna make you the leaders of Nuka World? All ya did… was piss off the Boss. You ain't never seen her mad before. But trust me… none of you fuckers are walkin' outta this place alive."

Nisha didn't like that answer. She pulled out her dagger and dug it into his thigh. Gage gritted his teeth, keeping quiet. He knew what the Disciples wanted from their victims. They wanted them to scream, to beg them to stop. Even as Nisha twisted the dagger in his leg, he bit down and bore the pain. Nisha pulled her blade free and handed it to Dixie. "Have fun, my dear. I have preparations to make."

Dixie turned to Gage and her smile spread wider. "Oh, don't you worry, Nish. I'll do ya proud."

* * *

The Nuka Transit moved on the rail that it hung from, swaying and swinging as it made its way to the park once more. Inside the cars were about half of the Pack that was brought to the Commonwealth, as well as the Overboss herself. Liz had put Hound in charge of keeping the settlements in line while she dealt with the issues back at Nuka World. Mason was sitting across from Liz. He kept taking glances at her, and her presence gave him chills.

Liz's eyes were cold and piercing. She stared out the window, as if her eyes were daggers trying to break the glass. Her jaw was tight, her teeth clenched. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her hands were balled into tight fists. Mason could tell that her knuckles were white, showing the tension in her body. Beside her sat Liz's rifle, loaded and ready to fire at anything that didn't sit right with her. The anger exuding off of the Overboss kept every other person on the train quiet.

As they started to approach Nuka World, Mason looked out the window that the boss was glaring through. He was ready to take out the Disciples. He only hoped that the Overboss's plans aligned with his.

"Welcome to Nuka World!" The friendly voice chirped and started to give directions to the passengers about staying clear of the door, and keep children close before Liz stood, grabbed her rifle, and shot the speaker out. Without another word, she walked off of the train. The Pack, led by Mason, followed her out of the cars and down the ramp, avoiding the gauntlet all together.

Liz walked silently around the park to the road leading up to the Power Plant. No one spoke a word. Even the Pack didn't dare to make a howl, bark, chirp, or growl as they made their way to their destination. Once at the bottom of the hill that lead up to the large concrete structure, Mags and William walked out of a small guard house to greet them. Dozens of Operators were mingling about, waiting for orders to storm the Power Plant. Mags approached Liz first.

"Boss, I-" She was immediately cut off by Liz.

"I gave you one job." Liz said in a low, even tone. Anyone who heard her words could tell that they were not friendly. She looked at Mags', her eyes little more than slits. "I gave you one. Fucking. Job. Get the power back on. And what happens? You let some psychopathic animals that I wasn't even sure could put two wires together stop all progress and take over a key location in MY Park!" Liz shouted the last few words. The group fell silent for a second or two. Liz waited for a response.

"Boss, we let our guard down too much around them. I had no idea that they would turn on us like this." Mags said, standing her ground as best as she could. "We were working in the plant, and they pushed us out. We lost a lot of our gang in there. We have to make them pay for this."

William stood by his sister. "Once we were outside, we went to the bottling plant to regroup. We saw Gage go in before we could stop him. We tried to go in after him, but they had already set up defenses, so we stayed down here to form a plan."

"And let me guess… your plan was to wait here until the Overboss came to clear them out, am I right? Just like always, I have to do every god damn thing!" Liz said, looking at the Power Plant with a heavy sigh. She tried to contain her anger the best she could.

"Boss, we gotta clear 'em out. We gotta cut 'em down. No second chances." Mason said, walking behind her.

"They deserve to be put down like the rabid dogs they are." Mags added.

Liz turned to look at them. "We aren't going to just clear them out. I want all of them slaughtered. No holding back. Mason, get your boys riled up. Mags, you make sure those Operators you brought are ready to get their suits dirty. I want to hear the Disciples screaming before we reach Nisha and Savoy." She turned to look at the plant again. "But you leave them to me. I want to deal with them myself."

Mason howled with excitement, the Pack following suit. The Operators loaded their guns, as Mags and William smiled at one another. They had been waiting to deal with the Disciples for a long time. Liz closed her eyes. If Gage was still alive in there, he wouldn't be for long once she found him.

Liz started to walk up the winding road to the Power Plant, the gangs close behind her. Looking down her sights, she started to pick off the guards at a distance. After the first few shots, Mason couldn't contain himself and rushed forward with the Pack. Not wanting to be outdone by a bunch of animals, Mags and William instructed their gang to push forward as well.

The group quickly dealt with the outside guards and pushed their way inside. The Disciples were overwhelmed by the numbers of the two gangs working side by side. The Pack lived up to their name and used blades in close quarter combat to rip into the Disciples, while the Operators took out others at long range. Liz, Mason, Mags, and William made their way towards the roof, William often leading the way as the Operators knew the plant best. Any crude defenses that the Disciples were able to get working were quickly destroyed.

The door to the roof finally came into view. The other gang leaders waited for Liz to be the first outside, as promised. Behind her was the force of the two gangs. Liz took a deep break and walked out the door, unsure what she was about to see.

Once the door was opened and she stepped out, Liz saw Nisha and Savoy in front of her, flanked by Disciples with guns pointed at them. The other leaders joined her on the roof, as did others from the two gangs. Liz had her rifle, pointing at the ground as she scanned the roof for the number of enemies that needed to be dealt with. Her eyes spotted Dixie on a metal walkway, a pistol pointed at the head of a bloody mass.

If it wasn't for the armor, she wouldn't have been able to tell that it was Gage at all. Her mind snapped back to the Raider Boss that had raised her into this way of life. She saw him, sitting on the chair, bleeding from wounds caused by her enemy. She lost him that day. She wasn't about to lose Gage the same way. Her eyes drifted back to Nisha and Savoy.

"Boss! So nice to see you again. I guess I lost the bet. I told Savoy that you wouldn't have the guts to face us." Nisha said, a pistol in her hand. "Now, you have two choices. Hand over Nuka World to us… or die on this roof after we take care of your right hand." She pointed back at Dixie, who pushed the barrel of the gun harder against Gage's head. Gage looked up the best he could to see Liz. He took in as deep of a breath that his broken ribs would allow and let it out in a sigh. The sight of Nuka World didn't compare to her.

Liz looked serious for a moment, then a smile spread across her face. She chuckled a little and took a few steps to her left, looking at Nisha. Her chuckled turned into a laugh. Raiders from all of the gangs were confused by her actions, but stood their ground. Liz finished laughing and stopped walking at the same time, but the eerie smile remained. She stood in line with the walkway that Dixie stood on."I am going to enjoy every second of this…" She said. Without wasting a moment, she swung her rifle up and shot Dixie through the neck. Though Liz was aiming for her head, the neck did the trick. Dixie sputtered and fell to the ground, clutching at her throat.

The rest of the raiders opened fire on one another as Nisha and Savoy ducked for cover to return fire. Liz was hit in her shoulder and arm before she was able to get behind an electrical box. She shouted for the Pack and Operators to remember that Nisha was hers to deal with. The raiders shot at the remaining Disciples. If one of Mag's or Mason's raiders fell, another ran up the stairs to take their place.

One by one, the Disciples fell. They fought to the very end until only Nisha was left alive, but wounded. Nisha, who had taken a shot to the stomach, tried to crawl towards a small shelter on the roof to die away from the Overboss's reach, but was stopped when Liz stepped on her ankle, breaking it. Nisha shouted in pain and looked at Liz, who was smiling again.

"You don't deserve to be Overboss. You are a mistake!" Nisha shouted at Liz, as she walked alongside the Disciples boss. "The Disciples should be running Nuka World. You are weak! Ah!" Nisha let out a cry of pain as Liz silently tore off her mask and grabbed her by the hair, dragging her towards the edge of the roof. Nisha held Liz's wrist to minimize the pain from her hair being pulled. Her legs kicked as she struggled to get free of the Overboss's grip. "You are nothing compared to us! Nuka World will fail, and all those that follow you are dead!"

The other raiders on the roof didn't interfere as Liz took a cable and wrapped it around Nisha's neck. Tieing it in a knot that would hold the last Disciple, Liz looked into Nisha's eyes one last time before lifting her up on the edge and pushing her over the side. The cable snapped tight when it reached it's maximum length. It moved side to side in quick motions for a few seconds before it slowed down to a steady sway. Liz turned to the others, who cheered wildly at the display of force the Overboss used. She walked back towards them, but stopped when she saw Gage. "Take him to the clinic in Nuka World so I can think of what to do with him."

* * *

A few hours later, Harvey was called to the Overboss's residence. It had been weeks since he had spoken to her, and his nerves were getting the better of him. As he rode the elevator up to the top, he wrung his hands nervously. Word had already spread that the Disciples were taken care of, and that the Overboss had taken it upon herself to deal with Nisha. Gage was brought in after the battle, and looked like he was barely hanging on. Mackenzie moved him to the Nuka Café to take care of him, as other members of the Pack and Operators were taking up beds in the clinic.

When the elevator reached the top of Fizztop Mountain, Harvey stepped into the Overboss's home. She was sitting at the bar, a glass of whiskey in her hand. She had a bandage over her shoulder and arm, and still wore her dirt covered clothes from the battle at the Power Plant. Harvey stepped forwarded tentatively. "Boss? You wanted to see me?"

Liz looked over at him, her face serious and without emotion. She pointed to the bar stool in front of her, which he took. She poured him a glass of whiskey, and then refilled her own glass. Harvey took it in his hand, the liquid shaking a little. Liz noticed and huffed out a laugh. "Don't be nervous, Harv. You got nothing to worry about." She took a sip from her glass.

"Right, boss… Sorry, I just… didn't know what to expect when I came up here." He laughed a little and took a sip as well. "What do you need?"

"How are the traders doing?" Liz asked.

Harvey was a bit surprised by the question. "Doing well. Um… we rebuilt some of the town, got a few homes rebuilt. The Nuka Arcade and Nuka Café are both running well. We've had a lot of traders come through, and have caps waiting for you -" He started to rattle on about the improvements before Liz cut him off.

"Are they happy?" She asked. She looked into Harvey's eyes, waiting for an answer. Harvey wasn't sure how to answer that, or why she would care.

"Yeah, boss. Well… happier than they've been in a while." He replied. "The new people you keep sending us aren't as optimistic about the changes we are making, but… I think they are coming around to this way of life."

Liz nodded. "Good. Keep up the good work." She finished her drink in one gulp and placed the glass on the bar. "It's important that you keep the Traders together, alright? We need everyone working to build up Nuka Town. I will be sending you more people from time to time. Your number one job is to make everyone here work together."

Liz stood up and patted Harvey on the shoulder. Harvey stood up as well. "I will, boss." He said and placed the mostly full glass of whiskey on the bar. The Overboss smiled at him.

"You wastin' my whiskey, Harv?" She pointed to the glass. Harvey quickly scooped it up and finished it, cringing from the burn. Liz laughed and put her arm around his shoulder. "Come on, let's go check on my gangs and make sure they are healing up."

* * *

"Two broken ribs, a dislocated arm, stab wounds in your thighs, calves, and abdomen, cuts on most of your body… did you fall into a Deathclaw den?" Mackenzie tried to joke with Gage, who was laying on a table in the Nuka Café. Gage didn't seem amused.

"Just fix me up. I got shit to do." He grumbled. The blood was wiped off of him, and his dirty clothes were removed and replaced with clean ones. Bandages covered most of his arms and torso, and his body was badly bruised. Stimpacks had been administered, but it would take time for this amount of damage to clear up.

"Well, you aren't doing anything for the rest of the day, at least. I would recommend that you stay in Nuka World for a few days to recover." The doctor said, applying another bandage to his arm.

"And I'd recommend you keep that shit to yourself." He tried to sit up, but quickly felt woozy and laid back down. Mackenzie stifled a laugh.

"Told ya." She replied, but didn't continue to joke when he shot her a scowl. "Alright, alright. Well, you aren't going anywhere tonight, so a good night's rest should at least get you on your feet again."

The door to the Nuka Café opened, and Mackenzie turned to see who it was. Gage propped himself up on his elbows to get a better view of the door. Liz stepped through the door, making Mackenzie's stomach drop. "Oh… Boss, he's not well enough to have visitors yet." She said with a weak smile.

"Leave, doc." She said. Her face was set in stone, her face emotionless as she met Gage's eyes.

"Please, boss. He is still very hurt. Give him time t-" She was cut off when Liz shot her an angry look.

"I said. Leave." She hissed. Mackenzie didn't wait to be told again. She scurried out the door and closed it behind her.

Liz watched her leave, then looked at Gage. "I'll be fine', he says." She started to walk towards him. "'I'll be back soon' he says…"

Gage watched her approach him. He sighed, not sure how much shit he was in. He was captured, and was used as a bargaining tool. He had made her come all the way to Nuka World to clean up the mess he couldn't handle. He made her walk into a hostile situation to regain control of the Power Plant, and put her and the other gangs in danger. "Look boss… I'm sorry. I thought I could handle it." He replied.

Liz stood next to the table, her arms crossed. Her expression of anger softened as she sighed. She reached her hand behind his head and leaned down to kiss him. Their lips connected and Gage couldn't help but sigh in relief.

After breaking it off, Liz smiled. "Don't ever make me worry about you again." She ran her hand over his scalp. Gage looked into her eyes for a few more seconds. _Worry about him? All of that destruction because she was worried for him?_ He thought. He had to be thinking about this wrong. The Overboss came to take control of the Power Plant again. Finding him alive was just secondary. He smiled slightly for her.

"I'll give it my best shot." He said and kissed her again. Even if she had only been there to clear out the Disciples, he was happy as Hell he'd get to keep up this fight with his Overboss.


	15. Chapter 14: Meeting Hancock

**Chapter 14 : Meeting Hancock**

* * *

 **AN: Hello again! Hope you all enjoy this next installment of the story. I apologize for the longer wait. Hope you enjoy it, and let me know if you do. Love to see those comments.**

* * *

Despite Gage's complaining, Liz made him stay in bed with McKenzie watching over him for the next two days. Liz stayed in Nuka World, but mostly with Red Eye communicating with Hound, or in her quarters in Fizztop, getting her gear back in order.

On the morning of the third day, Gage left Cappy's Café, back in his own armor and gear. He stretched and rolled his shoulders, glad as Hell to be back on his feet. He took a deep breath of the cool air and sighed.

"Well, well… Look who's back on his feet." A voice said from his left. He turned and saw Liz, a small smile creeping back over his face. "Good to see you standing upright. No good to me lying on a table."

Gage chuckled a little, but kept the butt end of a joke quiet, in case someone was listening in. "Good to be back." He added with a nod. Liz walked the rest of the way towards him, and he fell in step next to her.

"Been talking to Hound. He has been doin' good work out at the Slog. Got the ghouls workin' again, even convinced some of the locals to supply us with what we need." The Overboss was clearly impressed by the young man. Not only did he manage to keep other gangs that clearly respected him less then Liz to get to work, he convinced other settlements to fall in line. It wasn't an easy thing to do.

Gage shrugged. "Less work for us when we get back, then." He nodded, but couldn't hide that Hound had done good work.

As the pair of raiders passed by the traders, who were waking up, cooking breakfast, getting their shops open, etc., Liz spotted the Minuteman from Sanctuary, as well as other new faces that had been sent here when they refused to cooperate. She simply smiled a cruel smirk at them and went on her way. Garvy had to be held back from attacking the smug raider boss.

"Leaving soon?" Harvey asked as the pair approached the terminal for the Nuka World Express. He had his usual smile on his face.

"Why? You want us to leave, Harvey?" Liz asked, looking unamused.

"N-no! Of course not. This is your place, after all…" the nervous leader of the traders said back, shaking his head.

Liz chuckled under her breath. "I'm kidding, Harv. Yeah, we're leaving."

Harvey sighed, his body relaxing in response. "Well, I'm glad to see Gage back on his feet. I look forward to hearing more about our trips into the Commonwealth when you come back." He smiled again, though his nerves still made him shake.

Liz nodded and patted his shoulder before she walked passed him. Once they were out of earshot, she sighed heavily. "He isn't turning out the way I thought he would."

"What you mean?" Gage asked.

Liz smiled and looked at him. Now clear of Nuka World, and the sight of the traders, she grabbed his hand and laced her fingers with his. "Not important right now."

Gage couldn't help but smile to her. "What's next then, boss?" He asked.

"We're heading to Goodneighbor." Liz replied, the fire surging in her eyes.

* * *

"I don't like the looks a' this, boss." Mason said, as he shifted the heavy bag on his shoulder more. His normal gear and armor were replaced for ragged clothes and bags, resembling a caravaner. Even the colorful paint on his face was scrubbed off and hidden.

"When do you like the looks of anything, Mason? Especially what you see in the mirror." Mags replied, making the rest of the group chuckle under their breath. She, too, had changed her armored suit for a skirt, shirt, and large backpack combo. Mason was about to reply before Liz interrupted.

"Knock it off…" She shot back at the two. She lead Gage, Mags, William, Mason, and Hound further into Goodneighbor, not liking what she saw. The once dirty streets of the known free city were clean, almost spotless. The neon lights were repaired, making the dark town bright and colorful. The shops were welcoming, new benches and trashcans were placed in appropriate places, and even the street lights were fixed and functional.

The people of Goodneighbor had changed too. Most were in almost clean clothes, with their holes patched with matching cloth. Couples walked arm in arm, and nodded a hello to the raiders in sheep's clothing. Everyone seemed so happy, and to feel completely safe. Liz noticed something about the people, though. There were no ghouls, no ex-raiders, no chem heads, junkies, drifters, men and women on the streets sleeping on bedrolls. This wasn't Goodneighbor anymore. The sight of synth guards on every street corner, and at every doorway made that more clear than all the other changes combined.

Mags whistled lightly. "Wow… gotta say, if it weren't for the synths, I'd almost want to live here." She said, looking around as they stood in front of the Third Rail's doorway.

"This place is… wow.. I don't hardly believe it." Gage replied, equally as impressed.

"It's not Goodneighbor anymore." Hound added, with a sigh. "I mean, look at it… This isn't right."

Liz nodded to Hound. "Agreed."

"How are we goin' ta do this, boss? I mean… we'd lose a lotta guys taking this place. Is it really worth the fight?" Mason whispered to Liz.

"Yeah, it is worth the fight, Mason. But our gangs won't be fighting it alone." The Overboss looked up at the balcony where she heard rumors that the Mayor, Hancock, would often give speeches from to remind his people what was important. "We are going to need back up if we are going to take the town. You, Mags, and William stay out here. Gage, Hound, and I are going to see if we can get an audience with the Mayor himself."

Liz motioned for the two to follow her. Unsure what the synth's tracking capabilities were, Liz sent Hound to the guards standing at the State House doors. "Uh… hi. I was wondering if we could go in to see the mayor?" He asked.

"State your business." The gen 2 synth replied, it's plastic skin covered in an old suit to mimic what once was the Neighborhood Watch garb.

"We are traders that wish to set up a shop in town. Figured that would be something the mayor would want to know about." Hound said, hiding his nerves well, as if he had spoken to many synths about opening shops in the past.

"Permission granted. Move along." The gen 2 responded, coldly.

"Wow, that's it? Just like that? I thought the mayor had to give us a… a permit or something." Hound continued to push.

"Processing…" The synth stayed silent for a moment, unmoving. It calculated the benefit of keeping the charade in place that Hancock was, indeed, mayor versus these new comers realizing the city was run by the institute and taking their business elsewhere. "Accepted. Mayor Hancock is on the second floor. Have a good day."

Without hanging around, Hound motioned for Liz and Gage to follow him up. The group headed inside to find the State House immaculately clean. The lights were working, the wooden floors free of all debris and mildew, and the walls had all of the holes repairs.

Without wasting a moment, Liz took the lead once again, and headed up the stairs to where Hancock was rumored to be in, his own personal chem den. As expected, the ghoul in the red coat was sitting on a couch in a large room, equally as clean as the rest of the house. His one leg was up on the couch, the other hanging off the side as he lounged back. He looked to be asleep.

As the group of three approached him, he spoke in a grumble. "Been a while since I saw a face that wasn't made of plastic and metal." His black eyes opened as he looked at the group. "How the hell did you get in here?"

Liz saw a few synths in the room with Hancock, as if guarding him. The mayor followed her gaze and then chuckled a bit. "Eh, don't pay them any mind. They had their listening devices shut off years ago, after the eggheads down in the Institute didn't want to hear me rant and rave anymore." Hancock sat up straight, pointing to the couch across from him. "Where are my manners? Have a seat."

The Overboss led the way to the couch, sitting down. Gage and Hound stood on either side of the couch. "So… you're Hancock?" Liz asked, skeptically.

"Like what ya see?" He asked with a nod and another humorless laugh. "Yeah… Haven't really felt like myself in a long damn time, though. Been stuck here for years, don't even know how long exactly… Haven't had a chem in about as long. Those ain't good for me, according to Big Brother." Hancock looked tired, beaten down, a shadow of his former self. "And you are?"

"Liz. The Overboss of Nuka world." She said, not hiding it. The group, despite their looks, were well armed, and could handle the few synths they saw, should the listening devices NOT be switched off. Gage sighed, his senses heightening to respond to any trouble that might come from this conversation.

"No shit…. Heard about you. That radio station of yours is God awful… but damn if it ain't effective." Hancock chuckled. His eyes seemed to shine a bit more. "What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I want to ask you a few questions, and then make a proposal." She said, leaning her elbows on her knees.

"For a celebrity? I'll do my best." The mayor replied.

"What happened to Goodneighbor?" Liz asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. When she was young, she had heard stories of the Mayor of Goodneighbor. Someone who was notorious for keeping his people safe, but at a price many other leaders refused to pay. He was not a man to back down from a fight, or to piss off if you could avoid it.

Hancock sighed heavily again and looked at her. Figuring this might be the only person he talks to in a while, he nodded. "Nate… the prick who now runs the Institute, came into Goodneighbor looking for his kid. Felt bad for him, and I wanted to get out for a bit and stretch my legs. So I joined him to watch his back. Guy was a straight shooter, in words and with a gun, so we became pretty good friends. Thought I knew him, ya know? Well, I see him off in this… transporter thing. Was supposed to take him to the Institute to rescue his kid. After a few days of him not coming out, I go back to home. I figured he would come here looking for me if he was still alive."

Hancock stretched his back out and continued. "Sure as shit, he arrives right here in this room in a flash of blue light. Thought it was the Jet at first, but no. Here was my old friend. He tells me that he wants to help me fix Goodneighbor, tells me that the Institute can make it as great as Diamond City. He knows I hate Diamond City. I tell him that we are fine the way it is. He said that he 'insists'. Next thing I know, synths are poppin' up all over my town. I grab my shotgun to help my boys fight outside, but he grabs my arm to stop me. A few more of those metal assholes appear in the same blue light, take my gun, and he slaps this on my wrist."

He lifted up his sleeve and showed a small metal bracelet. It looked like a slave collar, but much higher tech then the raiders were used to seeing. "The thing keeps me confined in this room. If I try to leave without a synth giving me permission, they are instructed to terminate me on sight. Trust me, the thought has crossed my mind on plenty of occasions…." The ghoul looked to the ground, ashamed. "But I ain't goin' off this fucked up wasteland until I see that bastard brought down…" His eyes moved back up to Liz's. "So… that leads to today. Nate killed or threw out all of the Neighborhood Watch, then went the raiders, the chem dealers, the drifters… he shut down Kill or Be Killed and recommissioned KL-E-O into some peaceful bot in the Institute. He kept stopping by, trying to work it out with me, but there ain't no goin' back after what he did. Last time I saw him was about a year ago… when he removed all of the ghouls from my city and stopped allowing me to make appearances to my people. Can't have a ghoul run a city where they ain't allowed." Each word he spoke was more venomous then the last, showing his anger for the man he once called friend.

Liz knew that the betrayal of a friend put him through hell. She had been through it before herself, and could relate well. As her mind wandered to her past for a moment, Hancock broke through. "And what about you? Why are you even here?"

The Overboss smiled, falling back into her usual raider mentality. "To clean up the mess you couldn't handle. Friend or no, that asshole needs to be put down. Should've just popped him when you had the chance." Before Hancock could respond, she raised her hand out to him. "Let me see our wrist."

The ghoul gave her his hand, albeit a bit hesitantly. She started to look it over. She glanced at Hound and nodded. Hound returned the nod and started to walk around the room, examining everything. He stopped in front of the synth that was watching over the room. Hound looked at the synth as if examining it, then stood right there, blocking its view of the group.

Once Hound was in position, Liz looked at Hancock. "Are any of your boys still in the town? Or nearby?"

Hancock nodded. "Yeah. In some of the apartments just outside of town. The sewer system connects to a manhole near the apartments, and can get them here in short notice."

Liz turned his wrist over, examining the wires and screws to see how it worked. "I want to liberate Goodneighbor. Would your boys fight for that?" She asked.

"You kiddin'? They've been waitin' for this. All armed and ready to clear this place up."

Liz nodded. "If I go see them, how can I gain their trust?"

"Tell 'em if they don't help ya, I'll take 'em to Bobbi No Nose's place and bury them next to her." He smirked. "They'll know it's from me."

"When the attack starts, I'll come get you out of this, and you can join in."

"What are the terms? What do you get outta this?" He asked her, suspiciously.

"It's one less Institute outpost in the Commonwealth. And you support me when I finally go after your old pal Nate." Liz looked him straight in the eyes as she made her commitment.

Hancock smiled wider. "You fucking got it."


End file.
